A new reason to live
by Proxy4818
Summary: Heero has defeated White fang and destroyed libra but is now left without a purpose in life until he encounters a group of unkown mobile suits that lead him to a different world where a finds a new battle field and maybe something more to live for.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok I'll have to admit I'd rather leave this idea as far as the main pairing goes left in the hands of a writer who has enough talent to make a story earing two or three hundred reviews buuuuuut since there's no sign of that happening anytime soon I'm just doing it myself plus this needs to be a thing, no seriously it does Heero has been paired with almost every other major female character in seed so why not Lacus she could probably connect to him better than anyone else considering how she's like Relena in a few ways plus she's able to understand others better than most.**

 **Obvious question answered in advance: Who will Kira be with? Well I can tell you I'm not putting him with Flay as I said in my Hopeful path story she's as easy to hate as Louise from Familiar of Zero/ Zero no tsukumia I'll just have him be single before pair him with her, but since Kira is someone who reeeaaally needs someone to support him emotionally I'll probably be forced to put him with an OC.**

 **I'm not the perfect writer but I'm not a complete newb at this so I'm sure I can make it worth reading but anyway on with the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or seed.**

* * *

Flying through space to the designated coordinates sent to him by Sally Po Heero gazed intently ahead wandering what suddenly egged the Zero system into giving him the incentive that this particular recon mission needed his attention.

"Zero what is you hope for us to find out here?" Heero asked receiving no real response from its specialized system. Since the defeat of white fang and the destruction of Libra the perfect solider had found himself struggling to find a purpose for himself. Now that peace had returned to the Earth sphere Heero was left with nothing but uncertainty of what he was supposed to do now that peace had come about. Relena continued her goal of trying ensure war wouldn't come again after the eves wars reached their conclusion and was doing an excellent job of succeeding.

It was hardly surprising, she had a charisma that was only surpassed by Triez Kushrenada's plus thanks to the near destruction of the Earth humanity as a whole had lost its will to fight, in simple terms it was rather easy for someone of her caliber.

Since the idea of living the life of an everyday civilian wasn't something that came easily to the Gundam pilot who had been trained from birth only to fight the only option Heero was left with was to become a preventer and work behind the scenes to further ensure things didn't fall back into chaos.

Still the while job provided him with some semblance of purpose Heero was ultimately left feeling empty, Sally Po had told him that he may have to find someone special to live for so there'd be something else for him besides the need to fight.

Still that left the inquiry of just who was he supposed to live for, most of the other pilots found their reasons for living off the field of battle. Duo had pretty much began making a life for himself with Hilde, Quatre decided to dedicate himself to Relena's cause using his company's resources to provide to those in need since he wanted to help without fighting anymore. Trowa returned to the circus which was hardly surprising he found people that he could pretty much call his family and Catharine Bloom cherished Trowa as a younger brother so the pilot of heavy arms had something to live for beyond the battle field, Wufie was more than likely in the same boat as Heero but he at least had a close companion in Sally Po herself even if it wasn't noticeable to most so he wasn't left with a completely void existence.

While Relena was a close friend and the closest companion that may have counted for what Sally had described the Gundam pilot needing to find, after the incident with Libra their paths separated and wherever Heero's took him it wouldn't be by Relena's side, in simple terms the two would never be a part of each other's long term future.

Still Heero had to wander if that meant he was supposed to simply meet and befriend a random stranger so he'd have more meaning in his life aside from war? He doubted it would be that simply but for now he had to worry about investigating an anomaly that had repeatedly taken place in the area where he was headed.

Apart of him wandered the reason these repeated anomalies were, if it was by some off chance an enemy he'd eliminate them as quickly as possible, if it was something else he'd find out soon enough. After around another twenty or so minutes three unknown signatures appeared on the Wing Zero's signature.

Since there was no data on who or what the signatures were there was no way to deduce whether the source of the unknown signatures were ships, mobile suits, or worse mobile dolls.

Heero wasn't impulsive enough to jump the gun and make any assumptions on whoever was out here being an enemy but the idea of them being a random passenger or friendly ship was unlike and way too convenient with them being in a location where repeated anomalies have been taking place.

'Well since I'm going in blind I might want to get an idea of what I'm dealing with before I confront them'

Luckily for the Gundam pilot the area he was in was where a colony once located before being destroyed by the former Earth Alliance when it seized control of the Colonies under the false guise of justice. Debris and broken chunks of the Colony were still floating around in the vastness of space so Heero had no lack of cover for the wing Zero and thanks to a new module added to it last month it go avoid radar detections from common mobile suits and ships. Though there was no guarantee that whatever he was dealing with was a common suit or ships he could still avoid detection via maintain a safe distance luckily since Wing Zero's cameras were able to zero in about 250 meters the option of far distance observation was definitely available and the one Heero was in favor of since it's allow him the best chance at maintaining the element of surprise if the unknown units turned out to be hostile.

Taking position behind one of the chunks of the colony Heero zoomed his main cameras in on the general direction of the unidentified signatures and was greeted with a sight that made him narrow his eyes and suspicion to arise.

All three signatures turned out to be mobile suits however their designs weren't like anything OZ or the Romefeller foundation had. Two of them were primarily green in color and had dome shaped heads with a fin like pultrusion coming out the back of them with a single red eye sensor the other one was grey and white in color and what looked like a mini gun with a shield over it mounted on one of the arms. Like its other two partners the machine had a dome shaped head but with a slightly leaner design and had a fin like pultrusion not unlike the others.

In terms of armaments the two green mobile suits had rifle from the immediate look of it the grey suit had a rifle that looked like it packed more of a punch. Where these suits came from and who designed them was pretty much anyone's guess it was obvious they didn't match any of the designs OZ came up with during the time they were still around and manipulating the former Earth Alliance behind the scenes or any the mobile dolls had but that didn't answer any of the obvious questions.

At this point Heero was more than a little certain that whatever intentions the creators had for the suits couldn't possibly be good especially since Relena was pushing for world level disarmament so the whoever created the mobile suits Heero was currently eyeing didn't do so with Relena and even the world's best interest at heart.

Still even with the obvious factors Heero knew it would be better to have confirmation on their intentions and began looking through the different channels much to his surprise he quickly discovered that whoever were piloting the three mobile suits were speaking on an open channel.

"Seriously how long do we have to wait out here?" One of the pilots asked sounding annoyed.

"Until someone finds us." Another replied.

Heero raised an eyebrow upon discovering the pilots' desire to be found.

"But why what does the old man hope to accomplish we our side has better tech than the Earth Alliance? They don't even have any mobile suits aside from the Strike G weapon."

Ok now Heero was downright confused. What did they mean the Earth Alliance didn't have mobile suits were they so out of touch with the world that they were oblivious that the Earth Alliance had thousands of mass production mobile suits since of a decade ago back when they were still active over a decade age? Did they think the former Earth Alliance was still around at all and what were they talking about with the "G weapon"?

"We have to confirm if the people if this universe's people have any type of Mobile suits or weaponry that can help us with the war against the EA." Came a third voice from someone who sounded around Heero's age, a boy from the sound of it.

Okay one question was answered but so many others rose. This universe? Did these people come from somewhere other than the Earth sphere or any of the known space colonies? How could these people possibly be at war with the Earth Alliance after it was overthrown by OZ and dissolved, were they talking about some different group with the same name?

In spite of the confusion and complete lack of sense in most of what they were saying one thing was clear thanks to what the third pilot said. They were looking to get their hands on weapons of war, while this didn't necessarily imply any intent to attack the united earth nations directly Heero doubted that letting these people attempt to gain weaponry would bode well with the united Earth government or the preventers. Still if they wanted confirmation on the existence of weaponry they were gonna get it at least as far as mobile suits went but they weren't going to be getting their hands on any tech.

Heero flew out from behind the piece of the colony and took aim with his Rifle intending to take out one of the enemy suits quickly then attack the others while they were in disarray and hopefully take one of the others out and disable the remaining suit so he could take the pilot to a preventer base for interrogation before they had a chance to recover and fight back.

Judging from the grey suit's likely more sophisticated design if it's appearance was anything to go by and the fact that the other two green suits were identical and had a more simplistic appearance implied that they were mast produced modals used by common pilots it was a safe bet that the grew suit was the commander of the group.

Quickly firing his buster rifle at fifteen percent of its maximin power a yellow beam hit one of the green suits and disintegrated it out of existence.

"What the fuck?!" the pilot of the other green suit yelled before Wing Zero closed in on it putting away its rifle and pulling it beam saber in the process before swinging the emerald colored blade horizontally intending to cut the other green suit in half.

Much to Heero's slight dismay however the grey suit rammed the green one out of the way before pulling out a violet colored beam saber and locking blades with Heero before raising one of its legs and kicking Wing Zero in the torso.

"You son of a bitch!" The pilot of the green suit yelled firing their rifle only for their weapon not to do any really damage to wing Zero.

The pilot of the Grey suit spoke up next making it evident that they were the boy around Heero's age. "Calm down we need to head back and report this to Keagan."

"But this guy took out one of our men."

"We came to this world prepared for the possibility of being attacked on sight when we made contact with the inhabitants."

This world? Heero was now wandering if he was dealing with a terrorist group or pilots who suffered serious brain deterioration due to lack of oxygen at some point. What the boy just said applied the latter of the two scenarios especially the phrase "this world" however usually when people suffered brain damage from being in the wrong part of space they could barely function in society if at all let alone pilot mobile suits as an organized squadron no less so Heero seriously doubted he was dealing with phytologically deteriorated individuals so something else had be going on.

Heero rushed the grey mobile suit and swung his beam saber only for the boy to parry the and attempt another kick at Wing Zero's torso only for Heero to block the blunt attack with his shield before pushing the grey suit away which was the boy responded to by aiming the minigun on his suits other arm and opening fire.

Heero simply climbed above the line of fire and smirked ever so slightly.

'Two can play it this game.' Wing Zero's shoulder Gatling guns up and fired.

The grey mobile suit brought its shield to block the bullets. Unfortunately for the boy the power of Wing Zero's Gatling guns were far beyond that of common projectile rifles issued to most mobile suits and were able to tear entire mobile dolls to shreds. The moment the bullets impacted the shield piece after piece was torn off reducing the defensive armament to nothing in less than a minute and the arm of the boys' mobile suit seriously damaged. Before Heero could destroy the arm completely however.

"Don't forget you're dealing with two opponents you worthless natural." The Pilot of the green suit yelled before opening fire on the Wing Zero from above. Heero retaliated via the Vulcan guns in his machine's head and aimed them at the green suit's rifle since he was unsure of if they were powerful enough to destroy the suit itself considering their intended purpose was to shoot down incoming missiles.

To his satisfaction, the green suits mid-range weapon exploded blowing the lower half of one of the suits arms other in the process before using his beam saber to parry a blow from the boy who tried to use the unintentional momentary distraction his ally created to rush Heero with his own beam saber.

The boy then brought up his suit's other arm thankful for the fact the said arm was still operational albeit barely and leveled the mini gun on Wing Zero's eye sensors.

'Nice try.' While the move was clever Heero was quick to respond, and swung his shield upward hitting the elbow joint of the grey suit's arm and thanks to the limp already being severely damaged and the force behind Wing Zero's shield swing the limp was instantly severed in half.

The pilot countered with a swift response of their own and head butted Wing Zero pushing it back a bit cracking the visor their suit's eye sensor was behind in the process before kicking it in the chest and pulling back.

Heero had to give this boy credit he had a lot of skill piloting a mobile and maybe even the potential to rival Zex Marquise and Heero himself if the boy in question was allowed to refine their skill enough.

That scenario wouldn't happen since Heero intended to capture them and after they were interrogated they'd be locked up and that was assuming they didn't force Heero to kill them.

The boy swung around to Heero's left and according to the Wing Zero's radar the other unit was trying to flank his right side. Heero turning to face the Grey suit which was charging at him with it's beam saber in hand and fired his shoulder guns forcing the boy to divert his course before turning around and impaling the other unit through the cockpit which was about to attempt a vertical swing with a sword type armament that lacked any type of beam feature.

It was at that moment a black vortex of some kind appeared behind the remaining mobile suit whose pilot spoke directly to Heero for the first time.

"I gotta say you possess an incredible amount of skill and to top that off you have a G weapon type mobile suit, Keagan's gonna love this."

"Who are you? And why were you trying to find weapons?"

"So you were ease dropping before you attacked."

"Just answer my questions."

"For the first one my name is Roland Quinby, and as for the second we came find weapons because of the war we're fighting with the Earth Alliance."

"The Earth Alliance has already been defeated and dissolved."

"Maybe the one in this world but the version of it in mine is still going strong."

"What do you even mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said, though it might be better if you saw for yourself." The boy known as Roland said before turning his suit around and going through the vortex.

Heero stared for a few moments wondering if he should follow or not since he knew nothing about the vortex or if it was even safe for him to go through until Wing Zero's eye sensors lit up conveying I silent message to its' pilot.

"I know the only way I'll have even the smallest chance at finding the answers I'm after is by going in."

Zero's eyes continued to glow conveying something else that surprised Heero.

"You believe a new future for us might lie through there? Very well." With that the perfect solider engaged his machine neo bird mode and set a course for the vortex. Heero wasn't sure if he'd find Roland wherever he went or simply become trapped inside or even if he'd survive going inside. Assuming he did survive and the vortex actually led somewhere then as Wing Zero conveyed Heero would only find out by heading in, still he had to wander if there was really a new future for him on the other side.

"Wherever this leads there's only one thing to do, farewell everyone." Heero said as he went in.

'Goodbye Relena.'

XXXXX

Onboard a Zaft ship a Captain by the name of McCarthy Irons was waiting in was office to meet with a special citizen of the Plants who decided to take part in the memorial of Junius seven as a representative of the memorials delegation.

McCarthy Irons was an honorable and loyal man who simply wanted the current war raging between the Plant's and Earth to be over with. He had taken part in a few battles since the war started a little over year ago, but even with every victory Zaft scored and each inch of territory it took over on earth the Earth Alliance was still persistent in their desire to subjugate the people of the Plants.

Iron's was glad someone like Siegel Clyne was chairman since the man shared Iron's views and has made multiple attempts to engage in peace talks with the EA(Earth Alliance) but as anyone in Zaft knew the EA were persistent and ignored each and every offer. Still Siegel stayed true to his resolve and still perused a fairer and peaceful end which was something Irons both respected and Admired.

To anyone who knew McCarthy Irons personally the man's admiration for the chairman was no secrete and Iron's himself strived to be the same way, trying to stay above the hatred that had taken root in so many others by refusing to allow personnel under his command to wrongfully execute captured EA soldiers or attack Natural civilians out of anger of Natural's biased views towards Coordinators.

It really surprised Iron's when Siegel personally contacted him and informed him of the special representative, Irons was quick to swear that he'd make sure they returned to the Plants safely and now sat in his office wondering who it was that it would gain Siegel's personal attention.

He wouldn't have to wait much longer since after a few minutes a voice spoke over the intercom of the ship.

"Sir the special representative is here."

"Send them in."

"Right away sir."

After another minute or two the doors opened to reveal who was probably the absolute last person McCarthy Irons expected. A girl around her late teens with a white shirt that had separated sleeves leaving her shoulders exposed and long purple skirt, she had long flowing pink hair and a gold hairclip.

"Lacus Clyne I didn't think I'd ever have the honor of meeting you."

"Please captain I may be the chairmen's daughter but I'm still just another citizen like anyone else."

"That's not true Ms Clyne, while you may not be a member of the Zaft council like your father but your just as much of a symbol for peace and the people of the Plants admire you."

"I simply try my best to support those trying to restore peace to the Earth sphere that is why I wanted to take part of a representative of the memorial's delegation I don't wish for my life to be put above others because of that."

Irons relented knowing Lacus was right. While she was indeed famous in the Plants and had more influence than any member of the council also well as adored by the citizenry of Plants that didn't the everyday people living in the Plants didn't have lives of their own or the they had less worth than her own.

"Alright I concede to you on this."

"Thank you for that and also for not letting yourself drown in fires of war on my father's behalf."

"I simply try to follow your father's example."

"Still my father greatly appreciates what you've done for the Plants and for achieving peace."

Iron chuckled a bit at this. "Well I've always had much admiration for Siegel for his stance on how to handle the conflict with the Earth and have done my best to support it."

"And it truly means a great deal to him and to me."

"I'm honored to know that but right now you should introduce yourself to the other representatives of the memorial for Junius seven."

"Of course." Lacus said turning to leave.

After the door closed behind Lacus Irons sighed. "Of all people, I never thought the chairman's daughter would personally take part in the memorial.

Irons smiled. "I suppose that just shows she has her father's kind heart. I have the felling she might be the key to finally bringing this war to an end."

XXXXX

"You're back you're back!" Chimed the mechanical voice of a pink sphere shaped robot as it hopped in Lacus' waiting hands.

"Mr pink I was only the gone a few minutes."

"your Robot was I a bit of a handful." A female Zaft guard that was standing next to the door said.

"I hope he didn't give you too much of a hard time." Lacus said before her robot followed up chiming the word "sorry" a few times earning a short launch from the officer.

"Don't worry it just hopped around the hallway saying "where's Lacus, I want Lacus."

Lacus couldn't help but giggle upon hearing that. "That sounds like what he would do."

"What kind of robot is it I never seen anything like it in the Plants."

"It's a personal gift from Athrun."

"Oh your fiancé." The guard

"Yes."

"That's pretty thoughtful of him actually. I have to admit I'm a bit envious, you truly have something special."

"Yes. I do don't I?" Lacus said now donning a false smile. She appreciated and cherished a lot of things and people in her life, but her engagement was one thing she wished she didn't have to go through with. While she knew it was for sake of the Plants at least from an official standpoint and that Athrun greatly cared for her she still would have liked the person she gave herself to be someone she chose of her own free will. Siegel would probably support her but Siegel's friend Patrick Zala would fight them about at every turn insisting that Lacus' engagement to his son symbolized unity amongst the Plant's council and it was another necessary regulated marriage to ensure the continuation of Coordinators bloodline since most third generation Coordinators and essentially all of forth generation Coordinators were sterile.

While the reason itself sounded reasonable enough Lacus and her father Siegel knew the actual reason why Zala was so cavalier about the engagement was so he could exploit Lacus' influence over the citizens of the Plants to further his own agenda because of his unbound hatred for Naturals and his desire to carry out his personal vendetta against them.

Zala seemed to think that Lacus was some puppet he could control from the shadows but she like her father had no intention of contributing of his desire let alone being a pawn of it. While Naturals had persecuted and essentially driven the vast majority of Coordinators off the Earth and tried to exploit them even after the fact and that wasn't even taking the valentine into account there was still a dividing line differentiating Justice and revenge, a line Lacus and father were still well aware of in spite of everything that's happened between the Earth and Plants.

Zala on the other hand didn't, weather he wasn't able to recognize that difference or simply refused to because of his hatred Lacus couldn't tell. Regardless She had no intention of supporting such an agenda since doing so was no better than what the Earth Alliance was doing throughout the course of the war.

"Yeah you do but that's beside the point, anyway let's go meet the other representatives." The female Zaft officer said.

XXXXX

Landing his mobile in the docking area of a Zaft base that acted as one of many supply points in outer space Roland opened the hatch to his Mobile suit and exiting the machine intending to give his report.

He was a boy of about seventeen years with near shoulder length dirty blond colored hair and hazel eyes that were unusually stoic for someone his age. After losing his family years back when he lived on Earth to Natural extremist from the organization known as blue Cosmos he chased to a military base where he had an unlikely run in with the Zaft Council member Keagan Brown who was visiting the base and decided to take Roland under his wing giving the boy a new reason to live.

Over the following years after Plant's had broken away from the Earth Alliance completely and formed Zaft Roland decided to become a mobile suit pilot and since then had trained and perfected his skills quickly earning the rank of a Zaft red and becoming one of Zaft top pilots debatably the best in some people's eye for the sake of repaying Keagan for taking an interest in him and giving a purpose beyond simply being another victim of the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators who'd simply drown their entire being in hatred and revenge. As a result many of Roland's missions came directly from Keagan including the trip to the other world to find out if its inhabitants had Mobile suits or other space oriented weapons in the same general league.

Since becoming a pilot Roland didn't care much about anything beyond helping Keagan achieve his ideals in fact it was be accurate to say Roland dedicated his entire existence to furthering Keagan's agenda to the point that he'd even take on a suicide mission without a second thought if it was to help Keagan without a shred of hesitation, fear, or even regret. If Keagan simply intended to use Roland as an expendable pawn then Roland would strive to do all he could for Keagan until the council so fit to cut him loose.

Soon the shuttle doors closed allowing oxygen to fill the Room and moments after the personnel entrance opened revealing a man in forties with silver hair tied in a short braid with curved bangs going down each side of his face and piercing blue eyes.

"Roland what did you discover in the other world?' The man asked.

"I've confirmed the existence of mobile suits or rather a single one."

"I'm assuming it is responsible for the damage to your CGUE?"

"Yeah it also shot down both of the GINNs that came with me."

"You mean a single mobile suit proved to be too much for one of Zaft's top pilots?"

"Yes."

"Then am I to assume the unit that attacked wasn't on the level of typical mobile suits?"

"Yes, in fact it may interest you to know the Mobile suit in question resembled the G weapons Rue La Cruset's team stole from the Earth Alliance."

The man was silent for a couple of moments before replying. "Come with me, we'll talk about this further in my office.

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 **That's it for the first chapter.**

 **I read some of the other crossovers and decided to do something a little different than simply have a portal appear and take Heero to the Cosmic Era which is what that fight scene was for. I think I succeeded especially since unlike other fanfic the portal or vortex as it was called earlier in the chapter didn't just appear by coincidence.**

 **And Roland going to be a major OC for a purpose you'll figure out later as the story continues if you haven't already.**

 **Till next time.**


	2. Unlikely meeting

**OK here's the second chapter I'm working on this alongside Hopeful so sorry for the wait**

 **Disclaimer: I Don't own Gundams seed or wing**

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The Zaft council member Keagan Brown wasn't someone anyone downright distrusted or hated but his reticent nature often made other council members question what he wanted as far as the war effort against the Earth Alliance went.

Still due to his side career as a general tech designer which contributed to the invention of mobile suits which gave Zaft the edge it needed to level the playing field with the EA no one could accuse him of planning anything against the Plants.

That didn't change the fact that Keagan's insistence on keeping most of his fellow politicians well beyond arm's length at least with a lot of personal information pertaining to how he was trying to assist the war effort beyond attending meetings after the first mobile suits were created made a lot of other council members question what he was after.

Keagan was well aware of the questions going through the fellow council members' minds since the contributions he already made rendered any would be accusations of trying to undermine Zaft as absurd he never paid it much mind.

While he didn't intend to turn against Zaft or the Plants Keagan did indeed have a personal goal of his own one that was similar to Orb's but far off at the same time. At one point he may have tried to at least strive for what Siegel and his daughter were trying to achieve but as the years went on and the events leading up to the war and throughout it have solidified the belief that the Clyne family's ideals were too naive and something of a liability to the Plants. For the sake of reaching what he was aiming for Keagan had immersed himself in his designing career working on a device that allowed instantaneous travel to literally anywhere in the universe in hopes of finding a planet with the same resources as the Earth but with he sent a beacon and it projected a perfect signal but when sent out Roland to the location the Zaft pilot was unable to find the smallest trace.

Keegan then reversed transported to the beacon back to himself successfully and asked Roland if he seen any sign of the device being transported and much to his shock Roland reported not having seen any glimmer of a vortex.

Wanting to get to the bottom of the anomaly Keagan equipped the beacon with a visual sensor or camera. When Keagan had the beacon sent back out he got the shock of his life and the camera displayed a colony that was shaped completely differently from the Plants.

Desiring more information Keagan sent out more beacons to different locations and a few found other abnormally shaped colonies throughout space and one beacon found a shuttle transporting people to one of the said space colonies.

Keagan would have believed the Colonies in question were simply in a different location of space that Zaft nor the Earth Alliance had ever explored if not for the fact that many of the beacons were seemingly displaying signals from locations that were well in the territories of both sides which would make the colonies physically impossible to hide from the world and that whenever Roland explored one of the location he didn't find any semblance of the said space colonies. Because of this there was really only one explanation left to accept. The beacons were in a completely different world separate from the Cosmic Era.

While the first thing that may come to mind with most Coordinators was to transport the people of the Plants to the other world to finally escape the reach of Naturals Keagan was well aware that doing such a thing would only lead to some type of reaction by whoever the locals were and it might was unlikely to involve hospitality since the idea of another society and maybe even race depending on if Coordinators existed in the other world or not would probably do a lot more than simply startle them.

Needless to say having Coordinators simply settle in the other world might get them out of reach of the Earth Alliance in the Cosmic Era but may end up leading to new complications that could escalate to an even bigger level then the ones in the cosmic era.

Still Keagan saw potential use in the other world in terms of possible weaponry that could tip the scales of the war in Zaft's favor and sent Roland to other world to confirm if the inhabitants there had weapons suited for space but decided to keep this to himself. The vortexes created but the jump devices tended to give off an abnormal signal when they were created but luckily putting a radar jammers around the area where Roland would head with a three-man squad to the other side kept the Plants from even detecting anything so the abnormality would never be found out on the Cosmic Era side.

While the Vortex would still come off as an abnormality on the other side Keagan wasn't really too concerned since it simply meant it would be easier to get the inhabitant of the other world's attention without provoking them into sending out an entire army.

When Roland returned, Keagan was surprised to find Roland's CGUE damaged to the point that it'll take almost a month to repair it he could only assume that whatever local Roland had encountered turned hostile.

Upon greeting the Zaft Pilot and confirming his suspicions Keagan received another shock when Roland told him that a single mobile suit attacked him and that it resembled a G weapon.

Which brought Keagan to where he was now in an office he used whenever he visited the Zaft base he was currently at questioning the Zaft Red.

"Roland tell me everything you're able about this mobile suits performance."

"Like I said before it resembled the stolen G weapons and had reaction times that may or matched or even surpassed them."

"Really?"

"Yeah it took out one of the GINNs with only a single shot of a long range rifle before attacking me and like the g weapons physical rounds seemed to have been useless against it."-

"I see compared to matching or surpassing the G weapons of our word how would you assess it."

"I can't say much but I'm leaning towards going with surpassing them since the damage to my CGUE's arm was done by what I believe was a secondary weapon on both of its shoulders and even shredded my shield and that's not even taking into account that the machine's reactions were faster than any GINN or CGUE could hope to match."

"What was the weapon you mentioned a beam cannon of some kind?"

"No, just a pair of Gatling guns."

Keagan raised an eyebrow.

"You mean a normal Gatling gun?"

"In terms of appearance and bullet type I'd say yes but in terms of power they could probably tear entire mobile suits to pieces. Beyond that all I can really say is that I have the feeling that the suit's a lot more powerful than the pilot initially displayed."

"And what would you make of the pilot."

Roland was silent for a few moments.

"He sounded like he was around my age, he skill was beyond that of most Zaft reds but he might have been holding back actually it might be a safe bet to say he was."

"Are you certain."

"For the majority part yes, the pilot didn't seem like the type who'd show all the cards in his hand right from the start. He was smart enough to listen in on me and the other two when we were going over the mission.'

"It sounds like we won't be able to go back anytime soon if he alerts local militia. This is rather tedious, I would have preferred an opportunity to try capturing that suit for study."

"Actually we might have the chance if he took the bait I set for him."

Keagan stared at Roland for a few moments before replying. "You mean you tricked him into coming here to the Cosmic Era?"

"I thought it'd be better if he was caught off from any reinforcements, plus since he can't report the findings of our mobile suits to the militia in his world no one will ever find out that there were intruders."

"You realize the wreckage from the GINN's is still there?"

"Maybe but the inhabitants won't have a clue as to why they are there in first place, they'll simply end up thinking it was some group within their own world and will look in all the wrong places so we're safe as long as we don't enter their world near one of their colonies. Plus if he's here we'll have an easier time capturing the mobile suit."

"True, though I would also like you to capture the pilot if you can do before Rue La Cruset's team finds out about him assuming he makes a debut to the people of the Cosmic Era."

"Considering the vortex will spit him out in some random location and he doesn't know anything about the military factions or their locations it'd be nearly impossible not to be noticed. As for Ru La Cruset's team they're just your run of the mill ace pilots they might have mobile suits that are superior to any mass production unit but that doesn't mean they'll succeed in shooting him down or capturing his suit."

"You sound like you're confident they'll fail."

"Like I said before I get the feeling the pilot of that otherworldly mobile suit was holding back and I mean really holding back."

"So we don't have to hurry about anyone else getting to him first."

"Yeah but capturing him isn't going to be easy, I wasn't kidding when I said its reactions were faster than any mass production mobile suit and its prowess is nothing to scoff at either. We'd need multiple squadrons of CGUEs just to have a chance and mustering up the said numbers and that would come at the extreme risk of getting the attention of the other council members."

"True but I have something that might close the gap in power to some extent, enough so we won't require as many numbers."

"A new mass production unit?"

"Yes." Keagan said pulling a lap top an opening it. Moments after the screen lit up showing the specs to a new mobile suit that looked somewhat similar to the GINN and CGUE with the name "GUAIZ" written above it.

"I'm guessing this mobile is meant to replace the GINN."

"That's its' official purpose though it will still be some time before there's enough of them to let even common use them, they're no g weapons but they possess superior performances to CGUEs and are close enough to the G weapons that in the hands of a skilled enough pilot they could take down one of G weapons in single combat since they incorporate the beam technology the G weapons have. The combination of a squadron of them all in the hands of at least above average pilots with yourself in the lead may be enough."

"I might but we shouldn't be too complacent or it could easily backfire on us."

"Which is why I want you to lead the mission, plus I plan to give you a customized version of the Gauiz which will have extra mobility and a beam saber."

"In that case we can just use the beam saber from my CGUE."

"Very well, with that decided all we need to do is wait for this pilot from the otherworld to come out into the open."

"I'll be ready to deploy whenever I'm needed."

XXXXX

On Board the Zaft ship that was headed to the ruins of Junius seven alarms were now going off and representatives and civilians alike were being transferred to escape pods to evacuate the ship.

Amongst those who were being led to the escape pods was Lacus who was being led by the female Zaft officer she had met recently. "Come on miss Clyne we have to get you off this ship."

"What's going on?" Lacus asked actually already having a good idea of what was happening but prayed she was wrong.

"The Earth Alliance had a squadron on patrol out here. Our pilots are doing the best they can but the enemy brought in reinforcements that were close by and now there's too many of them for our pilots to fight off." The Zaft officer replied as she led Lacus to an escape pod.

"please get inside." the officer said ushering the songstress into the escape pod.

"How about you?"

"Don't worry I signed up to protect our home and that's exactly what I intend to do." The Zaft officer said before closing the door to the pod and sending it out moments before the Zaft ship was shot by an Agamemnon class Earth Alliance ship which destroyed it.

Lacus could only watch in shock as the ship was engulfed in flames and swarms of mobile armors which the Zaft GINNs were shooting a good portion of down but as the Zaft officer said there were simply to many of them and the Zaft pilot were steadily being overwhelmed.

To make matters worse the EA was picking off any other life pods they could find. Lacus so the face of another representative inside another life pod not far from hers. They expression showed pure shock as the frantically. It was obvious they were wishing to get back to the Plants safely and hoping with all their being that the Zaft forces would prevail.

Unfortunately to anyone who had a clear enough view of the battle knew who would win here, the other representatives faces turned completely pale with fear when one of the EA mobile armors fired a missile at it.

Lacus turned away unable to watch as the missile continued on its way towards the as she recursively imagined just how terrified the other representative was as the projectile came closer and closer until the sound of a hard impact and explosion was.

Lacus held her pink harobot close to her arm praying that someone would save the people the Earth Alliance was trying so hard to kill.

As the last of the remaining GINNs were shot down Lacus eyes all the floating scraps of metal debris from the Zaft ship mobile and other escape pods and she wondered why this was happening.

It was at this time that one of the EA pilots had taken notice of her life and set a course in her direction with the intention of killing her the very moment they were in firing range. Lacus could only close her eyes and wait for the end.

'Father sorry for leaving you alone, but please bring peace back the world.' The pop idol thought as she resigned herself to her fate. However it seemed fate had different plan as the mobile armor was pelted by bullets and destroyed.

Lacus opened her eyes just in time to see the flames from her would be killer's machine before a massive yellow blast soared through the air and hit an EA ship in its front before tearing all the way though to it a hitting another EA ship that was behind it, in an instant both ship were destroyed leaving nothing but a few scraps of metal floating in space.

What followed afterwards was the sound of rapid gun fire and the sight of the mobile armor units all going up in in flames in quick succession. What flew into Lacus' line of sight left her speechless. A white and blue mobile suit with a long rifle and shield in hand and a green jewel in the middle of its chest floated between her and the remainder of the EA force as it took aim with its rifle and fired at another yellow beam at another EA ship wiping it from existence before firing a pair of Gatling guns on its shoulders which mowed down the remainder of the Mobile armors in less than a minute.

Lacus stared wide eyed at her possible savior, she didn't know if they were there specifically to save her and whoever else may have survived the EA's attack but she was thankful none the less.

The mobile suit aimed its rifle at the final EA ship which tried to hailed them over an open channel over the radio.

"Please don't! We surrender so please spare us."

Whoever the pilot of the unknown mobile suit was didn't bother with any type of reply as it fired its rifle again releasing a yellow blast that sored towards the EA ship.

"NNNOOOOOOOO."

Lacus was a bit stunned at how merciless this pilot was but still the fact was that whoever they were had saved her.

"Ummm who are you? I'm glad that you saved me but I don't know your name." Lacus said over the radio of her escape pod.

The face of what looked like a boy around her age showed up on the monitor of her pod but it was hard to see their exact appearance as they were wearing a black space suit helmet.

"Heero Yuy. Do you nowhere the nearest friendly ship is?"

"No we came out here to perform a memorial service for the lives lost here at Junious seven."

"Got it, I'll take you to the first ship I find." Heero said in a tone that made it seem as if he already knew about Lacus' purpose for being here.

"Oh OK, thank you for helping me but I have to know are there are other survivors?"

"No, the forces I destroyed wiped them all out you're escape pod is that only thing left."

"I see." Lacus replied sadly.

XXXXX

Heero was not one to be taken by surprise easily but when the vortex spit him out he had hoped to simply find Roland Quinby and capture him, he didn't expect to be brought just outside the field of a battle between Mobile suits that looked like the ones he faced before he came through the vortex.

Heero wasn't initially sure who's side he should take or rather if should have got involved at all, still he had no idea where in the entire universe he was and as such he needed information if he wanted to have even the slightest inkling as to where Roland was.

He remembered how one of the Pilots of aside from Roland mention how the Earth Alliance had no Mobile suits so he was pretty certain the side with all the jets was the said Earth Alliance Roland and the other two pilots were talking about before but that left the question of who the other side was. He could say without a doubt that the other side wasn't on friendly terms with the EA.

Looking over the channels of the radio Heero soon found one that the other side was speaking on. As it turned out they were caught off guard by the presence of the enemy when they were headed here to perform a memorial for whoever died at this place which he found out was called Junius seven.

Since things were leaning in the Earth Alliances favor the other side decided to evacuate the civilians in hopes they would be left out of the fight and that someone could find them after realizing the crew was gone. But the Earth Alliance began attacking the life boats in response to the other sides actions.

It seemed this Earth Alliance had even less honor then OZ or the Romefeller foundation. They may have had their flaws but at least they had more sense than the Earth Alliance who didn't even seemed concerned with putting a front.

Right and there Heero decided he'd save what civilians he could. He didn't have no intent on join the other side but the civilians shouldn't have been being slaughtered the way they were. As the last mobile suit was shot down Heero opened fired on a jet that was about to fire upon the only remaining life boat and preceded to eliminate the rest of the Alliance force.

The task in and of itself was pretty straightforward since the EA's units were less of a threat than Leo mobile suits that OZ used by a rather large margin so aside from briefly revealing his Gundam to be on the level of a ship destroyer he'd be able to keep all his abilities and weaponry a secrete for the time being.

Once Heero got to the last ship they'd tried to surrender but Heero ignored their plea for two reasons, first after blatantly targeting civilians they didn't deserve to live and second Heero didn't want them to report seeing him to their higher ups and make him known to their entire side.

After eliminating the last ship a feminine voice spoke to him over the radio and upon establishing contact with her he found the monitor only displaying static only likely because of some damage to her life pod.

After speaking with her for a bit and giving her his name Heero decided to find the nearest ship he could and headed through the debris until he reach the other side where a detected something on his machine's radar which turned out to be a massive white double legged ship.

Judging from its shaped it was obvious it couldn't be anything that the United Earth Nations made. Since there was no sign of any other ships it was pretty much a given he was going to be taking the life pod to it.

'Let's see if they got any information about what's going on.'

Using Wing Zero's interface Heero hacked the ship's systems and quickly downloaded the files he was looking for and what he found wasn't nowhere near anything he could have expected. Come to find out the Earth Alliance had been at with the other side called Zaft for around a year now after the Earth Alliance decided to nuke one of their colonies which were called Plant's known as Junius seven where he was currently located killing a mass of civilians in the process which instigated an opening in hostilities for both sides and the Plants in turn seeded the Earth with special devices called N jammers which resulted in an energy crises throughout the Earth causing a large of the planet's population to die off from radiation and starvation. While the reason for the Zaft's action wasn't hard to understand Heero didn't see it as the optimal thing to do considering the majority of the those that died from it were also civilians. All in all neither side really had that much sense but it seemed like the Earth Alliance was responsible for starting the entire war.

Another thing that got Heero's attention was when the Calendar read itself the Cosmic Era instead of After colony. 'So that what Roland meant by my world.' Heero thought as he realized he was in a completely different universe.

Continuing his search through the Cosmic Era's history the Gundam pilot was a bit surprised that it was actually something of a racial war because of a difference in the genes of both sides. Apparently some years back it was revealed how to modify one's genes in order to enhance the speed of their reactions and they're ability to process data and even control what they'll look like when their born. Those who were modified came to be known as Coordinator's and those who weren't were then known as Naturals

Apparently the racial division has led many Naturals to believe that Coordinators should be wiped out so Naturals could reclaim their place has the pinnacle of humanity and form a group of extremist known as Blue Cosmos who only served to fuel the Natural's hatred of Coordinators, while this initially would paint the Earth Alliance as the worst side between the two at first glance Zaft was actually not much better.

Mirroring the views of Blue cosmos many members amongst the Zaft council and military believed that Coordinators were a superior race and the next step in human evolution and that as such they had the right to eradicate the Naturals and replace them as the dominate race of humanity as a result both sides both desired the genocide of their enemies.

Heero also confirmed what he already suspected from bits of info he had already gathered and discovered that while the Earth Alliance had a vast advantage in numbers Zaft leveled the plain field with the creation of Mobile suits giving them an even more vast advantage in quality of their weaponry resulting in the EA having to outnumber Zaft 5 to 1 to have a chance at winning. One discovery that Heero found that may have made the cosmic Era more similar to the AC Era than one may initially guess was the invention of five special mobile suits called G weapon or Gundams by the cooperation of the EA and a neutral Nation called Orb which were intended to help the EA close the gap in quality but Zaft forces found out and launched a mission to steal the mobile suit capturing four of the five. The only suit remaining in the EA's hands was called the Strike.

"Seeing this history it seems more like neither side really has any sense period." Heero said flying within visual range of the legged ship and waited for a few minutes to see how they'd respond to his presence. He stayed close enough to the debris field so he could retreat back in it and drop off the escape pod while he fought back in the case the ship attacked.

While it was a given Heero could just eliminate the ship and its crew with minimal effort he preferred not to fight since it would still pose some risk to the civilian's life which he was currently prioritizing protecting so he really preferred not to fight with these people if it could be avoided.

Luckily for him whoever was in charge decided to hail him over the radio.

"This is Ramius of the Earth Alliance ship Archangel, I request for you to identify yourself."

"This is Heero Yuy of the Wing Zero I'd like permission to come aboard your ship, I have a civilian with me."

The person who spoke to him went silent and a short time later Heero could hear what sounded like arguing in the back ground and he had a pretty good idea as to why, since the EA for the majority part lacked any mobile suits they probably suspected him of being a Zaft soldier.

After another minute or two the woman calling her Ramius contacted him again. "You have permission to come aboard but be warned any threat to this ship will be dealt with."

"Roger that." With that Heero set a course for the Archangel as one of its' legs opened and contacted the civilian he rescued.

"Hang on a bit longer you'll be able to leave that pod soon.

"Thank you Mr Yuy."

"You can just call me Heero."

XXXXX

After entering the ship Heero set the pod down and walked his machine over to a catwalk where two rifle men and three other officers took positions in front. Heero was expecting this and preferred to avoid a confrontation but he'd have to keep his guard up since there was always the chance they could try something and if they'd with him it was a given he'd strike back and if they tried to hurt the civilian he'd protect her since he didn't bring her to the ship to be executed.

Has Heero opened his hatch one of the officers a woman with brown hair introduced herself. "I am Murrue Ramius and captain of this ship as I already told you and these two are Mu La Flaga and Natarle Badgiruel." Ramius said gesture to the other two officer.

"Nice to meet ya." Mu said while Natarle glared at him and eyed hi Gundam a little too much for comfort.

"While it was noble of you to rescue a civilian I have a few questions for you. I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

"Very well."

Before any of the four could begin to leave the hanger bay however the voice of one of the engineers spoke.

"Ramius we got the civilian out but…" The mechanic stopped unable to bring himself to continue.

"Who are…." Ramius stopped in mid sentence as she saw the person who came out and drawn an entire crown. "…They"

Heero glanced in the life boat's direction and saw a girl around his age.

"She's beautiful." One of the crew members said offhandedly and while the comment may have been less than relevant to anything not even Heero himself could deny the truth of it, actually it might have been more accurate to say she was one of the most beautiful girls to exist in either world. The girl in question wore a long purple skirt with a white shirt with separated sleeves.

Her hair was a light shade of pink with a triple layered gold hair pin in it. "Thank you for helping me out of that pod but might I be able to speak with Heero Yuy, I'd really like to meet him."

Everyone just stared at the pinkette in pure shock.

"Is it rally Lacus Clyne the number 1 pop Idol of the Plants?" One of the younger crew members asked,

'So that's her name.' Heero thought slightly taken aback by the fact that he was a famous figure. While meeting well known figures wasn't anything new for Heero or any of the other Gundam Pilots he didn't expect to meet one so soon but thinking about it now that was probably just how his luck was considering Relena who was now a symbol for peace throughout the entire world of the After Colony Era so this may have simply been inevitable.

Looking around Lacus became confused. "Um yes I am but it was known to most people in the Plant's that I would be attending the memorial for those lost during the Valentine tragedy so it shouldn't be this much of a shock I'm here."

Everyone just stared at her silently. "Um this is a Zaft ship right?"

It was at that moment that Badgiruel snapped out of her stupor and called out to the guards. "Restrain her we'll interrogate her later."

Two officers on the first level of the hanger bay wasted no time in grabbing Lacus by both of her arms and forcing them behind her. Murrue became mentally stunned by her second in command's actions but that proved not to be the end of it when Heero suddenly elbowed one of the riflemen who were charged with watching him and swapped the officer's rifle before firing into the leg of the other riflemen that came with Ramius and the other two commanding officers in the leg before knocking the first one out with the butt of the rifle he took and pulled out his pistol and aimed at the shocked captain of the ship whilst leveling the rifle so he could shoot La Flaga and Badgiruel if they tried anything.

Both the lieutenant and second in command's eyes widened with shock before the latter spoke.

"So you were a Zaft solider after all!"

"No I'm not I'm just let letting you hurt a random civilian just because she's from the enemy's homeland."

"She's not just any civilian she's the chairman of the plant's daughter."

"That irrelevant, she's still a civilian when it's all said and done, you have no right to interrogate her just so you can harm or imprison her for the way she was born nor any right to use her as a hostage. She's not a part of the war effort so don't drag her into it." Heero retorted before turning to Ramius.

"It's not my intention to hurt any of you nor am I your enemy but I didn't bring Lacus here so you could have her needlessly detained now call off the guards." Heero demanded turning off his pistol's saftey

Ramius already knew from the look Heero's eye he was more than ready to pull the trigger to both guns if she didn't comply with his demand but still she was rather shocked that the teen boy resorted to this for Lacus' sake granted his accusations about Natarle's intentions for trying to detain Lacus were for the majority part spot on in fact the only thing he was really wrong about was the supposed intent to hurt Lacus simply for how she was born though she couldn't even blame the boy holding her at gun point for jumping to that conclusion considering as much as she hated to admit it there was no shortage of people in the Earth Alliance who'd happily do just that and more but Natarle in spite of the impression she was giving off knew better then to take things that far since it would only escalate the war even further.

"Alright." Ramius then turned towards to guards on the first level. "Let her go she's not a soldier." The Guards let her go.

Ramius then turned back to Heero who lowered both guns much to her relief. "Now that we've established we won't treat Ms Clyne as an enemy I need both of you to come with me."

"Alright but there's one more thing I need to warn you about before we go and I'm only gonna say this once." Heero said tilting his head in Wing Zero's direction slightly.

"If anyone tries to tamper, or take my mobile suit it will self destruct and I promise nobody on board will survive."

"Alright now please come with me." Ramius said before turning to Lacus.

"I'm sorry for asking this of you after what you've been through you will have to come with us as well."

XXXXX

On board a Zaft ship known as the Vesalius four Zaft ace pilots who had recently acquired four of five special mobile suits made on the now destroyed colony of Heliopolis were discussing how to deal with the Archangel during the next time they encountered the EA's new legged ship along with Strike.

"Sheesh not once but twice that ship and the Strike managed to get away from us. This isn't gonna look good on our track record ya know." The pilot of the Buster G weapon Dearka Elsmen said.

"They only got lucky on Heliopolis and those bottom feeders at that Artemis base wouldn't quit trying to butt in until we blasted them to hell." Replied another Zaft red pilot named Yzak Joule

"And to think Athrun was so close to actually capturing the Strike."

"It doesn't we'll catch up to them before long and take them all out."

"True but first we'll have to dispose of an advance unit that likely intends to link up with the legged ship." Another voice said causing the pilots to turn and see a blond man wearing a mask.

"An escort unit that? That'll be even less of a challenge than the Strike." Yzak said.

"Speaking of which it would be preferable if were to eliminate this unit before they link up with the EA's new ship so we can focus on one target at a time." A map displaying the EA ship's and the escort unit's locations and anticipated courses showed up on the bridge's main monitor.

"It looks like we may be able to pull it off but we'll only have about ten minutes." Nicol Amalfi who was the pilot of the stolen Blitz G weapon said.

"More an entire ten minutes considering we're the ones charged with mopping the floor with those Naturals, heh this'll take less than half of the time we've been giving." Yzak declared smirking in anticipation of what he believed would be an easy win for him and the rest of the La Cruset team.

Athrun Zala who was the Pilot of the stolen G weapon type mobile designated as the Aegis rolled his eyes as his teammates statement. While it was true they'd have the overwhelming advantage consider the EA needing a 5 to 1 advantage just to have a chance against common pilots of Zaft and the La Cruset team was made up of Zaft red aces who had four of the five G weapons made on Heliopolis which all had superior specs to any mass production mobile suit model which practically guaranteed their victory against the escort unit Athrun was also well aware that this didn't make him and the other Zaft reds untouchable like Yzak seemed to think, too much complacency would cost even them greatly.

XXXXX

"So Ms Clyne why were in an escape near the ruins of Junius seven?" inquired Ramius to Lacus across from herself, Natarle (was glaring at Heero with such intensity that one had to wander if she wanted to kill) and Mu with Heero next to her.

"I was traveling with a special envoy to Junius seven in order to perform a memorial service there for those who were lost by its destruction when were attacked by an Earth Alliance patrol unit I was fortunate enough to avert death by luck my escape pod. After that Heero found me and brought me to this ship to save me."

Heero a slightly surprised Lacus left out the part where he eliminated the EA forces that where responsible for attacking the envoy, not that he was complaining since if those among the ship found out he wiped out force on their side they'd likely become convinced that he was a part of Zaft.

"I see." Ramius said before turning to Heero.

"Heero Yuy just who are and what are your intentions after this?"

"I'm a pilot with specialized skills and as for the second part I plan to simply see where this war leads which actually brings me to a proposition."

Ramius tensed up.

"What kind?"

"One where I become something of an ally for you, at least for the time being in exchange for letting me stay here on a few conditions."

"And what are they."

"First you're not to touch my machine without my supervision or as I warned you of before it will self detonate and even then it'll only be to reload one of its weapons. Second I won't be following your orders I'll be fighting as something of a mercenary not a member of the ship's crew so I've no intention of being told when or when not to sortie since I can easily determine that for myself." Heero said.

Natarle decided to protest. "What right does a civilian like you have to deny us access to that machine? It's…"

"Mine, not the Earth Alliance's." Heero said cutting her off before continuing. "The machine wasn't built by the EA or Zaft and before you ask the identity of those who did stays with me."

Natarle's eyes narrowed in anger.

"And finally, while this means I'll be fighting Zaft forces on your behalf I'm going to at least return Lacus Clyne to them, I have no intention of allowing you guys to interrogate her for information she doesn't have or use her as a bargaining chip against Zaft, she might be the chairman's daughter but that doesn't justify dragging her into the war.

Ramius eyes narrowed upon hearing the accusation even if it wasn't hard to understand why the boy in front of her would think those were her intentions especially with what Natarle tried to pull. Overall from the average EA officers point of view the terms Heero just laid out would normally be unacceptable since they essentially gave him leeway to do almost anything he wanted, plus they'd be denied a chance to further their military strength via analyzation and study of his machine, and on top of that the EA would be losing a political asset that could give them a major advantage over Zaft which was something the EA really needed so it would make sense for the average EA officer to refuse the proposition but since the Archangel's crew was in a rather desperate situation but with twhat happened back in the hanger boy it didn't a genius to realize Heero was not going to budge on the matter to know Heero was going to budge an inch on the matter with Lacus, if anything he seemed more concern with protecting her than anything else.

"Done." Ramius said causing her second in command to look at her.

"Captain I don't believe it's wise to concede to what this boy demanded." Natarle protested.

"What choice do we have? We don't have any supplies we barely have enough of crew to operate this ship, and Zaft forces along with the four stolen G weapons are hot on our heels, we need all the help we can get to this point."

"And how do we know this boy will be capable of helping us when we're attacked again?"

"I'll prove it when the time comes." Heero said.

"Ok I'll agree to your terms however I expect you to keep your promise about fighting alongside us the next time we engage the enemy and aside from returning Lacus Clyne to the Plant you will not do anything to undermine our mission or betray us or you will be considered an enemy from point forward and treated as such. Understand?"

"Yeah." Heero said not even flinching upon hearing the warning given to him.

"We'll I think that wraps this meeting up. How about we show these two to their room." Mu said.

"Actually, there's one more thing we need to know pertaining to Yuy." Natarle said glaring at the teen boy who simply met her gaze with a stoic expression.

"Are you a Coordinator?"

"Badgiruel!"

"It's necessary for us to know, it'll be a factor in how useful he is."

Ramius glared a Natarle. The second in command wasn't a bad person but her by the book attitude and pragmatistic way of thinking often led her to make less then morally appropriate decisions from time to time.

Right now since the crew weren't going to be able to extract anything from Heero's machine or take it which Natarle probably was itching to do when he initially showed up before revealing its self-detonation feature the only option left was to see how much use they could get out of him on the battle field when fighting started which was what Natarle wanted to determine here and now.

"No." Heero answered causing everyone to stare at him in shock.

"But you were piloting that mobile suit, weren't you?" Lacus asked.

"Yes due to specialized training I received from birth."

"But you're a natural."

"Yes, but I can assure you I can deal with whatever enemy becomes a target for elimination."

"Then you won't have any complaints if we decided to have you take a blood and reaction test." Natarle said.

"I won't, if you need the test to gain some inkling to if I'll actually be of any use to you then go ahead, I'll take it." Heero replied.

"Well I'd say that wraps the meeting up." Mu La Flaga said standing up before continuing.

"Heero I need you to come with me so we can take the blood and reaction tests. Ms Clyne is free to come along if she wishes."

"Thank you." The songstress said.

"Alright let's get on with it." Heero said.

Ramius could only bring herself in inwardly sigh.

XXXXX

"Is this guy really a Natural?" An EA officer asked as he Mu, Lacus, and a wide eyed Natarle watched Heero fire at targets of the Archangel's shooting range.

"Yeah the blood test confirmed it and when we took an x-ray it showed him to have too many broken bones for any Coordinator to have but his reactions times far surpass even Kira's and his skills with a hand arm put any of our ace shooters and probably even Zaft's to complete shame." Mu said scratching the back of his head unsure of what to make of this.

He already knew Heero wasn't your run of the mill teen when he held Ramius, Natarle and himself at gun point in retaliation to Natarle's attempt at imprisoning Lacus for the EA to interrogate once they linked up with the eighth fleet plus that boy had the look of a trained killer in his eyes.

But even taking notice of this Mu couldn't have anticipated this amount of skill from the boy. With Heero's mobile suit which he called Wing Zero having a similar look to the G weapons Mu could already tell it surpassed any GINN DINN or CGUE. How powerful it was compared to the Strike and stolen G weapons Mu La Flaga could only guess but if the boy's skills with a mobile suit were anything like his skill with a handgun then Mu had a feeling Heero's aid on the battle field would more than make up for what he refused to give the crew by far.

'Still he's just one pilot against four, granted he'll have support from me and Kira but still will he be able to hold his own?'

XXXXX

"Heero I would have never guessed you were so skilled with a hand arm before." Lacus said as she and Heero sat in the they were both given since all the other rooms weren't taken be the skeleton crew were occupied by refugees from Heliopolis.

"As I said before I was trained from birth."

"By who?"

"A special scientist."

"Isn't there anymore you could tell me like where you were born maybe?"

Heero just stared at her for a moment. He wandered if it was really ok to share any personal information with the girl he had saved. He barely knew her however she did refrain from telling the EA about how he wiped out the squadron responsible for attacking the memorial crew that she was traveling with so as things stood she was pretty the only person he could even remotely trust and it wasn't like we would need to tell her every little classified secrete pertaining to his past and Wing Zero.

That still left the problem of how he would tell her in a way that she would believe him. Thinking it over the was really only one way he could show evidence in the truth of what he would tell her.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to ask anything too personal I was just curious!"

"No it's fine I just wasn't sure how to answer in a way that wouldn't lead you to believe I was insane."

"What do you mean?"

"It might be better if I showed you directly but we'll need to head to my Gundam."

"Um ok."

XXXXX

Inside the cockpit of Wing Zero Heero pulled up a video to show Lacus who was forced to sit in his lap.

"What is this." Lacus asked referring to the video in front of her which was currently paused showing two GINNs and a CGUE. She also took notice that the date for the video displayed the age After Colony rather than Cosmic Era which baffled her to no end.

"A record of what happened before I found you. I know you're confused right now but after you see this what I'm going to tell you will make much more sense."

Heero played the video which sowed the events leading up to his being transported to the cosmic Era.

Lacus was baffled when one of the Zaft pilots said "this word." Then she remembered how the date said After Colony making her suspicious about where this was leading. Shock set in when the fighting began and when Heero questioned the CGUE Lacus' eyes widened upon hearing the name Roland Quinby, however the astonishments didn't end there as a vortex of some kind appeared behind the CGUE and Roland egged Heero on to follow him through once Heero did he was left in a tunnels that looked to be made of swirling dark cloud before an opening appeared which he went through and found himself at the location where the memorial envoy was attacked by the EA before the video which now displayed Cosmic Era came to an end.

Lacus found herself unable to speak for the first few moments before her voice finally me to her. "Wh-what does this mean?"

"Lacus, I'm from a different world."

The pinkette couldn't bring herself to respond earning a sigh from the Gundam pilot.

"I'm well aware of how irrational that sound but it's the truth. I won't hold it against you for not wanting to believe me."

"Oh no I trust you're being honest it's just knowing of the existence of another world is just a lot to take in."

"Believe I know I was shocked when I first ended up here."

"Speaking of which Heero I must ask are you here because of Roland?" Lacus asked in a tone that made it evident she was now worried where the situation was going.

"Yes. When he stated that he was looking for weapons in my world that wasn't something I could ignore especially since the people of my world are finally moving towards a time of peace of many years of war and Roland's intentions could likely undo all of that."

"I see."

"Lacus I need to ask you do you know anything about Roland or the individual he mentioned when I observed when speaking to his allies named Keagan."

Lacus was silent for a few moments before answering. "I don't know much about either one of them, all I can tell you is that Keagan if the one Roland mentioned is the same one I'm thinking of is a member of the Zaft council who helped developed the first mobile suit known as the GINN and others that came after it, beyond that nobody really knows much of anything about him."

"Seriously?" Asked Heero raising an eyebrow.

"Yes aside from what I told you Keagan or rather Keagan Brown keeps everything else he does secrete even from the other council members of the Plants."

"That hasn't caused others to accuse him of anything."

"I'm sure many of the other members have their doubts in Keagan's sincerity for the citizens of the Pants but with him being involved with the invention and development of Zaft Mobile suits and therefore a major contributor to the war with the EA they can't really voice any suspicions against him without risking looking like a fool in front of the rest of the council."

"So basically what he's done on the surface gives him leeway to do other things on his own term without consulting any other members." Heero said.

If everything Lacus said was true than chances were extremely high that Keagan had sent Roland and the other two pilots to his world in secrete meaning the existence of the AC world was ultimately unknown to those of the Cosmic Era. Knowing that it became evident that Heero needed to find out more about this Council member and what he was after, if he was even half as secretive as Lacus implied then it was a safe bet to assume he had his own agenda and something he personally wanted out of the war between Zaft and the EA.

"I believe that would be the short version of it."

"And what about Roland?"

"Even less. In fact anything I know is only from rumors."

"And what do the rumors say about him?"

"Only that he's only loyal to Keagan and that he's supposedly the best pilot in all of Zaft with skills far surpassing that of even my..." Lacus looked away from Heero. "Fiancé."

It seemed that what Lacus could tell him wasn't anything beyond what he had already learned from his own encounter with Roland. Since there was nothing else to ask pertaining to two individuals responsible for the intrusion if Heero's world the Gundam pilot decided to change the topic to the only thing that he would immediately think of off the top of his head.

"You're engaged?"

"Ye-Yes to a pilot named Athrun Zala." Lacus said.

"You don't sound too pleased about it.' Heero said causing Lacus to look at him.

"So it was that easy to tell?"

"I wasn't meaning to bring up an unhappy topic."

"Oh no it's fine it's just our marriage wasn't one of our choosing."

"You mean it was arranged?"

"Yes, you see in our world people our members of one of two races depending on the genes."

"Natural's and Coordinators?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?"

"Before we boarded the Archangel I downloaded some of their files and researched the history of this world and found out about Coordinators and the war currently raging." Heero answered surprising Lacus.

"But it only took us a few minutes to board the ship after you found it. There's no way even the most seasoned Coordinators could have read enough of our world's history to find out what was going on in that short of a time."

"Not using normal methods no but Wing Zero has something to speed up the process."

"I see." Lacus said before getting back to subject at hand. "As I'm sure you're also aware most Coordinators are living in space colonies known as plants. However a major problem our people are currently facing is an increase in sterilization."

Heero remained silently allowing Lacus to continue.

"You many third generation Coordinators are born Sterile and essentially all fourth generation Coordinators. To counter many marriages are regulated and arranged."

"So basically, your engagement was amongst those that were regulated."

"Yes, and to be honest I never really wanted to go through with it. Don't get me wrong Athrun is outstanding in many way and someone I care for but…."

"You see him as more of a friend then someone you love."

"Ye-yes."

Heero found himself inwardly sighing when he initially brought up the subject he was simply trying to steer his conversation with Lacus away from the one about his mission since he didn't want to reveal anything private about his machine though Lacus never asked even when he told her it had a special feature that allowing him to go through the Cosmic Era recording of events leading up to the war in mere minutes which he was glad for but still he may been a bit impulsive since he steered it towards Lacus' marriage of all things which was rather unusual of him actually.

Unsure of how exactly to handle this particular subject Heero said the only thing he knew that may help Lacus with her maternal problem.

"The only advice I can really give you is to act on your emotions."

"You mean do what I wish."

"At the very least I don't think it's wrong for you to seek out your own form of happiness."

Lacus was about to reply when suddenly the alarms were going off.

"Lieutenant La Flaga, Ensign Yamato, and Heero Yuy report to the hanger bay and prepare to launch in your machines." Natarle's voice said over the radio earning a slight scowl from Heero has he remembered how he made it quite clear he had no intention of following the EA's orders.

'Still I did promise them my aid so it's not like I wasn't planning on taking part to begin with.' Heero thought as he went to the entrance of the room him and Lacus were put in until the latter spoke up.

"Are you going to fight against Zaft forces?"

"I'll give them the chance to retreat but there are refugees on this ship that need to be protected as much as you."

"I know, I don't wish to see any harm come to them but…Please come back safe and sound."

Heero was momentarily caught off guard that someone would bother to worry about his well being in his entire life the only other person who ever did that was Relena.

'You two would probably have been great friends had you ever met.'

Walking just outside the doorway the Gundam pilot stopped again before finally replying.

"Roger that."

XXXXX

"So you're the pilot of that machine?" A teen boy in a blue and white flight suit asked Heero over the radio.

'So this kid's the pilot of the Strike, Kira Yamato.' Heero thought as he eyed the boy displayed in the window of Wing Zero's main monitor. Judging from how nervous the boy was it was pretty safe bet to say he was green.

'Yes. From this point forward were allies but I'm going to warn you now to stay out of my way." Heero replied.

"O-ok." Kira said nervously.

"Let's save the acts of intimidation for the enemy." Mu la Flaga said before continuing. "And Heero you do know you're supposed to wear a flight suit whenever you go out right?"

"I don't plan on dragging this fight out so there won't be any need."

"If you say so. I'm sending you the data on the other four G weapons will likely be encountering."

"Roger." Heero said before looking of the data

'Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis.' Heero thought as images of them came up. Upon looking over the data Heero discovered Duel was a general purpose type, and the buster specialized solely in long range attacks, Blitz had a special stealth feature called mirage collide, and Aegis had the ability to change into a mobile armor form and had the best close combat capabilities out of all the stolen G weapons.

"These suits aren't true Gundams but they're still a lot more powerful than any mass produced unit." Heero said to himself.

While Heero didn't have to worry about being outgunned as far as the power of mobile suits went there was still the pilots skill to worry about, and from his experience with opponents like Zex when he shot Heero off course with a Leo and personal experiences where he himself was at a disadvantage in terms of mobile suit power such as when he fought Quatre who was using Wing Zero at the time with the original Mercuries(Granted it was no run of the mill mobile suit either) or when he went up against Aries mobile doll with a mere Leo Heero was well aware that if the Pilots had enough skill they could use their talent to make up for the disadvantage in fire power and that possibility could very well be the case here.

Weather it was indeed the case or not there was only one way to find out.

"Kira Yamato, Strike launching." Kira said after loading the Strike onto the Archangel's Catapult.

"Mu La Flaga, Mobius Zero launching." Mu said as his mobile armor which was already laoded onto the catapult Launched.

It was then a window appeared on Wing Zero's main monitor which showed a girl around his age with short brown hair. "Heero Yuy please load your machine onto the catapult.

"No need Wing Zero is capable of launching on its own."

"Wait wa.." Heero cut the connection cutting the girl off and engaged Wing Zero's thrusters.

"Heero Yuy, Wing Zero launching." Heero said as Wing Zero accelerated forward of its own accord shocking everyone on the ship's bridge.

* * *

 **Alright that's the end of this chapter it may be a while before the next one comes out, I still gotta work on Hopeful path.**

 **Sorry for the lack of screen time with Kira and his friends for most f the Chapter but I pretty much just wanted to use it to introduce Keagan who will be another major OC and to have Heero and Lacus meet and for them to be the main focus of chapter as far as people currently on the Archangel go. I'm hoping I did a decent enough job with their interactions, I tried to push it as close to fluff as I could at least with the part where the talk between the transitioned to Lacus's engagement but my options for what I could have happen between them are limited, Like I said before I would like to think I did a decent enough job in that regard but I'd like feedback as far as that goes and on the overall chapter.**

 **And the guy Roland met up with and reported to in the first Chapter and Keagan are one in the same he simply wasn't mentioned by name at the time.**

 **Anyway until next time I'm pretty sure anybody who knows how powerful Heero is knows how the fight is going to play out the people on the Archangel don't so their reactions should make it worth while.**

 **PS random question in a hypnotical scenario (That I'm not going to do) would giving Heero an inner seed like Kira Athrun and Shinn make him too OP? lol.**


	3. True Gundam vs fake Gundams

**Ok sorry for the delay my PC broke so I had to write this on my phone so anyway enjoy the Accelerator(anime: a certain magical index) style slaughter that's about to take place.**

 **Also on the less relevant side I found out Wing Zero doesn't actually have Vulcan guns in cannon at least as far as wikia's concerned. Well I already unknowingly added them so they're staying.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Seed.**

* * *

Ramius and everyone on the bridge were taken by surprise when Wing Zero launched.

"Ms Ramius the Montgomery won't last much longer."

"Send out the order to prioritize the protection of the Ship to the Mobius Zero and Strike."

"Lieutenant I believe we should have also issued Wing Zero that order." Natarle said.

"Yuy made it very clear he wasn't going to follow our orders. All we can do is count on whatever aid he can give us."

Natarle grunted in annoyance. It was pretty much obvious she didn't like abiding by Heero's terms since they gave him too much free reign for her (and most high position EA officers if they knew about the arrangement) personal liking but Ramius had already agreed even knowing she'd probably catch hell especially since it. Meant giving Lacus back to Zaft when the chance came.

'I hope Heero is at least as good as Kira.' Ramius thought unaware of just how vastly she was underestimating him.

XXXXX

Heero moments after launching was greeted with the sight of four ships

Three was at a high altitude than the other and firing upon it which already had a combination smoke and flames coming out of multiple places as well as wreckage surrounding it which was likely from destroyed ship allied with it.

Judging by the few mobile armors trying to defend it and the stolen false Gundams and green mobile suits which Heero discovered were called GINNs mopping them up with little to no effort it was a safe bet to assume the ship on the verge of being destroyed was an EA vessel.

Heero was pulled out of his thoughts when he found himself being hailed over the radio by the Mobius Zero.

"Hey Heero I know you're not obligated to follow any of our orders but we could really use your help with saving that ship." Mu said.

"I'll do what I can to hold the stolen mobile suits off and destroy them if I'm able."

"Fair enough." With that Mu cut the connection.

Looking at the Condition of the Montgomery Heero immediately knew that saving it was already a lost cause. Odds were more than half of the personnel on board were already dead and whoever remained would soon follow especially with the Buster and Duel taking out any escape pods while the Aegis and Blitz and the GINNs picked off the last of the mobile Armor pilots.

Since the Blitz was the closest to Heero's position he decided to focus his attention on it first.

Taking aim his buster rifle Heero fired at fifteen percent power before putting the rifle away and switching to his beam saber while charging in the Blitz's general direction.

The Blitz managed to dodge the shot in time but it wasn't a cause for alarm since Heero hadn't intended on it being the killing blow.

As soon as he was close enough he swung his beam saber down which the Blitz managed to block with its shield which only held up thanks to the anti beam coating it had before pulling back and firing and lancer dart at Heero who blocked it with his own shield before the Blitz pulled out an amber colored beam saber and charged Wing Zero making a diagonal swing.

Heero easily parried the blow before swinging his beam saber the the other direction horizontally forcing the Blitz to pull back but not without grazing its chest and leaving a sparking gash in the process.

Now nervous Nicole in an act of impulsiveness fired his piercer lock at Wing Zero's chest only for the enemy to block the weapon with its shield before cutting the cabal connecting it to the Blitz's arm before charging at Nicol tried the swing his beam saber horizontally only for Wing Zero to descend under to the swing before bringing up its own weapon and cutting through the hilt of Nicol's beam saber rending it useless.

Now downright scared Nicol pulled back and tried to use the main trump card of the Blitz's capabilities in hopes of turning the tables, the mirage collide system.

Slowly the Blitz began to fade from view giving its pilot a sense of safety. Unfortunately however that sense of safety was shattered as fast as it came when Heero simply smirked.

'Nice try but that won't do you any good.' he thought as he opened Wing Zero's shoulder Gatling guns and fired.

Due to the combination and the shoulder guns' power and the lost of the Blitz's phase shift armor in exchange for the mirage collide every bullet the hit either torn gaping holes and gashes in the G weapons.

After a few moments Heero stopped as the Blitz became visible now missing multiple chunks of armor and littered with sparking areas.

"Time to finish you off." Heero said even though his opponent couldn't hear him.

Making a beeline for the Blitz Heero readied his beam saber intending to cut the G weapon in half through the torso before another voice yelled out over an open channel.

"Nicol!"

It was then the Aegis flew between Wing Zero and its intended target and produced a beam saber from its forearm to block Heero's attack.

The Aegis then produced another beam saber from its other arm and tried to get at Wing Zero's other side only for Heero to block the attack with his shield before pulling back just enough to kick the Aegis in the torso before opening up Wing Zero shoulder Gatling guns and firing.

While the guns couldn't do any actual damage because of the Aegis' phase shift armor they were more than capable of knocking it off balance.

Heero wasted no time in taking advantage of the opening and closing the gap between the two of them and severing the Aegis right arm before it attempted to counter of with a beam saber on it left leg only for Heero to utilize Wing Zero's faster reaction time to sever the said leg at the knee joint before the Aegis could bring it up far enough and followed up with an upwards diagonal slash to the left intending to cut the Aegis through the torso.

The Aegis somehow managed to pull back in time to avoid absolute destruction but the Wing Zero's beam saber grazed the torso enough that the cockpit was left sparking inside and to make matters.

'How can this be happening?!' thought Athrun who was now beyond shocked.

He and the rest of the La Cruset team were supposed to be ace pilots with the four of five of the most powerful suits ever created throughout the history of the Cosmic Era.

Yet for all that he and Nicole were supposed to be capable of as Coordinators and Zaft reds they barely could even hold out against the enigmatic mobile suit that seemed to be picking them apart like it was facing a group of half ass trained rookies who only had a vague idea of how to pilot a basic GINN.

It didn't particularly helping matters when as alarm went off alerting Atgrun that the Aegis battery was almost empty and its phase shift armor come down or when Wing Zero's thrusters engaged and it pointed its beam saber forward with the intent of stabbing the Aegis through the cockpit.

Since the distance between the two was short and Aegis was damaged to the point that its reaction time was reduced and that wasn't even taking into account that it had used all its power supply there was no way Athrun could utilize any of the G weapon's remaining armaments to defend himself or evade the incoming attack.

'Dammit am I seriously going to die here? I still need to get Kira to come back with me!'

Luckily for the bluenette Wing Zero was forced to divert its path at the last moment because of a blast from one of the buster's rifles before it combined the two into a longer sniper type rifle.

"Don't know who you are but you chose the wrong team to mess with." Dearka announced over the radio as he fired at Wing Zero.

Heero simply climbed above the blast and avoided it completely before tossing his shield aside to take out his buster rifle and wasted no time in firing.

The Buster unsurprisingly dodged the blast but much like with the Blitz the shot was meant as a short term distraction to allowed Heero to close the gap and get in close.

Dearka took notice of this and opened up both of his suits shoulder missile silos.

"Nice try but not happening."

'And neither are those missiles.' Heero thought as he fired the vulcan guns at the Buster left shoulder hitting the missiles before they could be let loose from the silo resulting in an explosion that blew off the Buster arm along with its thrusters and throwing it off balance as well as the missiles in the other silo firing off in a random direction and hitting nothing.

Acting quickly Heero went in for the kill before before being impeded by the final G weapon as it blocked Heero's beam saber with its own.

"Are you guys seriously having this hard of a time with one natural? You're supposed to be the best in the entire Zaft military. Seriously, am I the only here who can live up to that expectation?" The pilot of the Duel inquired.

It immediately dawned on Heero that the Duel's pilot was extremely arrogant and overconfident in the enhancements their genes gave them leaving them with a sense of invincibility when it came to confrontations with Naturals.

One Heero would soon prove downright false.

"Let's what you got Natural, I think I'll have a little fun showing you why a Natural can never be the equal to a Coordinator."

Heero used hit shoulder Gatling gun to shoot the Duel off balance before going around it and putting himself between the Duel and Buster seemingly giving the latter of the two a clear shot at him in the process as he closed in on before bringing his beam saber down which the Duel managed to parry.

"Cheep trick Natural but I'm still gonna take you down."

Yzak brought his beam saber back around only for Heero to block it which Yzak smirked at as Dearka used the Buster's remaining arm to take aim at Wing Zero and its Pilot who Yzak believed was oblivious to what his ally was up to.

'All to easy.' Yzak thought to himself before speaking.

"It was fun will it lasted but its time for you to die Natural. You should've thought twice before challenging your better."

Heero didn't bother with a reply as the Buster fired. Yzak and Dearka believed they beaten Wing Zero until Heero proved that assumtion very wrong and pulled away from the Duel at the very last second leaving it to take the full brunt of the blast which disintegrated its arm holding before Heero fired his rifle at ten percent power at the Buster which couldn't dodge due to its current condition which resulted in a large portion of G weapon's chest being disintegrated.

Yzak was left speechless and shocked. As he took in the sight of remained of the Buster he quickly tried to hail it over an open channel.

"Dearka come in, Dearka!"

Yzak was only met with silence and static making his stomach turn to ice.

XXXXX

Inside the cockpit a bleeding and barely conscious Dearka heard the radio beeping signaling someone was trying to contact him.

While Dearka would have answered it was impossible thanks to the damage the enemy suit caused.

The last blast while it miraculous didn't destroy the Buster completely. It caused the roof of the cockpit to cave in and now the was a long piece of metal stabbed through his arm. Whether it was a support beam, pipe, or some other part Dearka couldn't tell. All he did know was that he was out of commission and in a lot of pain.

He had to wander how the EA could have such a monstrous Mobile suit that seemed to be legions more powerful than the Buster or any of the other G weapons built at Heliopolis.

With that mobile suit on at thier disposal the EA had a vast advantage regardless of the La Cruset having four of the five G weapons built on Heliopolis.

'If I get out of this alive I think I'll steer clear of that mobile suit.' Dearka thought as sleep overtook him.

XXXXX

"Dearka come on respond, give me some sign your still alive!" Yzak yelled out in desperation.

Still silence was the only thing the Zaft red was met with.

As everything sinked in Yzak turned to face Wing Zero and shock was replaced with rage and pure loathing for the mobile that shot his best friend.

"You worthless Natural. You're gonna be begging me to kill you long before this is over!" Yzak yelled out in rage as took aim with his beam rifle and fired its grenade launcher.

Heero simply responded with his vulcan firing bullets into the grenade while it was still close enough to the Duel that the mobile suit was well within the blast radius of the would be explosion result in the detonation obliterating half of the Duel's rifle.

"I'm not done yet. I refuse to lose to Natural!" Yzak screamed as he tossed the remains of the rifle aside and pulled out the Duel's other beam saber and blindly made a beeline for Wing Zero.

'To bad because that's exactly what's about to happen.' Heero thought as the Duel brought its beam saber down.

Heero responded by bringing his beam saber up but instead of parrying or blocking the incoming blow he sliced through the Duel's wrist severing its hand.

Blinded by rage and the refusal to accept defeat at the hands of someone he thought of as far inferior to himself due to their genes Yzak utilized the only weapon he had left and fired the Duel's CIWs as he screamed in anger.

While the weapon couldn't even scratch the paint on Wing Zero let alone do any semblance of actual damage it did serve to slightly annoy Heero. Then again the pilot's constant boasting about his genetic superiority was annoying.

"I won't be beaten be a Natural. You're weak, inferior, beneath me! Someone like you could never hope to reach my level!"

And now that boasting was something Heero was getting to of listening to, not that he ever cared for it to begin with but still.

Bringing his beam saber down Heero made a gash in the Duel's torso.

Inside the Duel's cockpit the control exploded resulting in Yzak being on the receiving end of shrapnel.

The following result was the Duel moving in an awkward motion while firing its CIWs in all directions.

"I'mmmm beeetttter than yoouuu!"

Heero simply made another deeper gash in the Duel's torso causing another larger explosion which implanted much bigger pieces of shrapnel in Yzak's body as well as covering portions of his body in flames which caused his screams or rage to replaced by screams of pain.

'At least he's not going about his genes anymore.' Heero thought before turning in the direction of the others in time to see one of the Zaft ships fire off a shot from its main cannon and destroy the Montgomery.

XXXXX

Kira was driven by blind desperation as he tried to make a Beeline to save the Montgomery and keep his promise to Flay Allster a girl he harbored romantic feelings for.

Unfortunately he was immediately hindered by the Duel and Mu had his hands full with the Buster.

Oddly enough the two stolen G weapons pulled away away Kira glanced in the general direction they were heading in and saw Wing Zero closing in on a badly damaged Aegis poised to stab it through the cockpit.

The sight made Kira become cold as ice as he watched Wing Zero get closer and closer until it was forced to divert its path to avoid taking a hit from the Buster's energy rifle much to Kira's relief.

While he didn't won't Heero to lose he also had no desire to see his childhood friend killed either.

Much to his dismay he couldn't wait around to found out what the conclusion would be since he still had numerous GINNs to deal with.

Bringing the Ail Strike's up Jira blocked rifle fire from a fast approaching GINN as he pulled back and returned fired with his own rifle.

The GINN easily dodged the first two shots since Kira never took time to properly aim was shot in the arm by the third slowing its advance enough for Kira to fire a few more beams destroying it.

Any relief was short lived however when two more GINNs show up and fired at him forcing him to pull back.

"Just let me through already I need to save the montgomery." Kira said in frustration as he up the Strike's shield in front of it before firing and hitting one of the GINNs in the chest destroying it before turning to the other unit and attempted to fire only to find out he was out of ammo.

"Don't run out on me now!" Kira exclaimed before tossing the rifle aside and pulling out the a violet colored beam saber and flying straight for the GINN and bashing his shield into it before cutting it in half through the torso.

"Finally." Kira said to himself before readying himself to head for the EA ship only to witnessed it being destroyed by one of the Zaft ships.

XXXXX

Mu La Flaga had much experience on the battle field but what he witnessed when he was trying to keep an eye on Heero was a first.

He had encountered fiercely skilled mobile suit pilots and the Zaft member that stole the other four G weapons were no exception.

But nothing he ever encountered came close to comparing to what he witnessed from the boy known as Heero Yuy.

From the begining Mu knew he wasn't your typical happy go lucky perverted teenage boy, the cold calculating look in his eyes made that much plainly evident and Heero's reaction test only served to further prove that point.

Mu suspected Heero would be a highly skilled pilot after seeing his reaction test but he never imagined Heero would be at such a level that he'd be able to make sport of all the stolen G weapons the way he was.

'That kid could be the game changer we need in this war.' Mu thought before contacting Kira.

"Hey Heero may have the G weapons handled but we still need to worry about these GINNs."

"Ri-right." Kira replied before cutting the channel.

'By the way he sounded it's safe to assume he's upset by the by the destruction of the Montgomery.' Mu thought before narrowly avoiding a spray of bullets from a GINN and splitting his machine and four barrels apart letting each barrel fire at the GINN.

The first two shot in front of the mobile suit forcing the pilot to slow their pursuit before the third barrel fired and grazed the top GINN's right shoulder before the fourth one shot the GINN from behind and took it thruster leaving it drifting it space before Mu turn ed around in a wide arch and shot the GINN in the chest destroying it.

XXXXX

As the remainder of the assaulting Zaft forces turned their attention to the Archangel Heero used the opening to take aim at one of the Nazca class ships and fired his rifle at twenty percent.

A long yellow beam soared through the air tearing through any mobile suits unfortunate enough to be in its path and hit right in the side of one of the Zaft ship which instantaneously went up in flames shocking everyone.

The only CGUE pilot on the field the commander of the G weapon team Ru La Cruset watched as the allied ship was obliterated from existence with high interest.

He had to admit the spectacle this guy was putting on was impressive even by his standards.

Glancing over at the four heavily damaged G weapons the commander actually found himself resisting the urge to laugh.

What happened to them was kind of Ironic since they were supposed to be unstoppable but the unknown mobile suit the EA employed disproved that belief outright.

The new mobile and its pilot was going to prove to be quite an entertaining wild card.

'I can scarcely imagine how many blood vessels Zala will pop when he hears about this.' Ru thought as he decided to try and destroy the legged ship before Heero could turn his attention to the forces assaulting it or destroy the Vesallious.

After destroying one of the Zaft ships Heero found himself being fired upon by a small squad of GINNs which he figured were charged with defending the ship in case it was attacked by any enemy units.

"Your gonna pay for shooting our ship down." One of the pilots yelled over the radio.

Heero paid no heed to the threat as he put the Buster rifle away and fired the last of the ammo with his machine's Gatling guns and took two of the enemy mobile suits before flying through the rest of the group cutting another GINN in half with his beam saber in the process.

Reclaiming his shield Heero spun around and sliced through another GINN that attempted to come up behind him with its heavy sword.

'It looks like these guys don't know anything about the stolen Mobile suits. Not that it would make much of a difference if the case was otherwise but still if they're acting on the assumption that Wing Zero is like the G weapons there not using effective weaponry.' Heero thought as he hacked through the chest of the second to last GINN of the defense squadron before following up and closing in on the last unit stabbing it through the cockpit.

Turning to Archangel Heero had a rare moment of worry when he saw a small group of GINN's and a single readying to focus fire on the bridge.

He couldn't use his buster rifle since he'd risk hitting the Archangel himself and with the sheer power the Wing Zero's rifle had the odds of the ship surviving were a given.

Utilizing his beam saber was out of the question since he was to far away to close the distance in time.

Frustration came over Heero as he realized he'd lose his source of supplies and bedding but it also dawned on his that all the civilians on board would die needlessly including Lacus.

Heero felt his stomach turn cold and time seemed to slow down.

'Lacus.' Heero thought as panic set in. It was highly unusual for him to worry this much about the well being of someone he just met. In fact the only time it ever happened in the past was when that OZ squadron tried to kill Relena at her former school but that was the only similarity.

Back then it was well within Heero's power to prevent the would be tragedy from taking place and he did. But here he couldn't do anything even with Wing Zero.

However just when it seemed all hope was the Archangel decided to use its only trump card that halted Zaft forces as Natarle's voice spoke of an open channel on the radio.

"Attention all Zaft forces we have the chairman's daughter Lacus on board our ship."

Upon hear that all Zaft pilots were could still fight stopped while the Archangel's second in command continued.

"Originally when we stumbled on her life pod and took her aboard for humanitarian reasons. But if you continue your attack we'll be forced to assume you've abandoned her and take matters into our own hands."

Heero's eyes narrowed before he grunted in acceptance. While he wasn't particularly like the method the EA was employing the fact remained that it saved all lives of all the refugees and ironically enough Lacus own life.

However Heero didn't have intention of allowing the crew tp use Lacus for very long.

Since using Lacus as hostage forced something of a temporary cease fire Heero could use this opportunity to return Lacus to Zaft.

XXXXX

Still inside the heavy damaged Aegis which was drifting through space Athrun felt pure shock as he heard the announcement about the legged ship.

A part of him had to wonder if everything that had happened so far was just some crazed nightmare he'd soon wake up from. It might have been more accurate to say he wanted to wake up from it now.

Unfortunately for the Zaft red this was reality and one he really was growing to hate. First he discovered his childhood friend of all people was not only fighting for the earth forces but also the pilot of the Strike. Then the EA suddenly had to bring out a new mobile suit that seemed far more powerful than anything the G weapons found on Heliopolis were capable of comparing to even by the smallest margin with a pilot that had skills beyond anything the La Cruset team could ever hope to aspire to amd that wasn't even taking into account that two members of the team were likely dead, and now his fiancee of all people was being held hostage.

Athrun could only wonder how much worse things could get.

"Kira is this what you're fighting for?" Athrun asked knowing full well Kira couldn't hear him.

Gripping the control in anger Athrun's expression turned to one of anger.

"I don't understand what's going through your head that you'd work with people who'd resort to something like this but I promise I'm definitely going to get Lacus back."

* * *

 **Alright that's the end of this chapter.**

 **And yes I know the fight didn't go full Accelerator style but to anyone who's watched A certain magical Index you know in order to do so I'd have to have Heero kill off the entire La Cruset team right then and there...probably the whole Zaft force that was attacking the escort unit.**

 **And just to clarify Dearka is still alive but bad hurt but at the moment the rest of the La cruset team thinks otherwise.**

 **Also I'm well aware that I kind of over exaggerated Yzak's ego but to me he's always been a moran who overestimated himself which is what I choose to display him as.**

 **During the fight with Heero he thought he could take him on easily because of his being a Coordinator (and a Zaft red) and found out rather painfully he was wrong. I really enjoyed writing that part.**

 **Anyway sorry for the shorter length. i had to write this on my phone which for some reason causes me to put less detail into the chapters so if the quality's lacking compared to the last two...well let's just say that's the last time I'm using my phone for chapters of this fanfic because with all the favorites and followers coming in I get the feeling you guys are kind of having high expectations and that I'm apparently not the only one who thinks this pairing needs to be a thing so I feel I gotta do the best job possible.**

 **Next chapter will have everyone's reactions to seeing a glimmer of Wing Zero's power so stay tuned and hope you enjoyed the ponage**


	4. return to Zaft

**Ok well I got my pic fixed but I gotta get the Microsoft programs back on it now which could potentially become complicated for personal reasons and since getting access to a public computer is surprisingly something of a nightmare key word being "surprisingly" since I live in the capable city of my state and you'd think the case would be otherwise and I don't want to use my phone since it just makes me want to rush thought writing the chapter and it becomes less detailed which visibly (to me at least) hurts the quality of the chapter I was forced to improvise**

 **the program I used isn't as good but at least the chapters will come out better, I lucked out with the previous one.**

 **So on the more relevant side of things we're now going to see everyone's reactions to Heero's prowess.**

* * *

Docking his mobile suit in the Hanger bay Heero powered down Wing Zero and rearmed its self detonation. Upon opening the hatch he was greeted by the sight of Kira making his protest about what happened to resolve the fight known to Ramius and Natarle.

"Why are you using her as a hostage she's not even a Zaft solider." Kira said.

"That decision is not for you to question, had you performed better during the fighting and saved the Montgomery we..." Natarle retorted being being cut off by a hand gesture from Ramius.

"Yamato you need to understand our options were limited and we needed to ensure the lives of those on board this ship."

"But did you really have to use Lacus as a shield?"

"Zaft Mobile suits were about to shoot the bridge of the ship. We had to stop them."

Kira was about to protest further before being stopped by Mu putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We all know what we're doing isn't exactly righteous but we've got no choice."

"Why?"

"Because we're week."

"But even so that's..."

"Enough Kira." Heero suddenly said causing the Strike's unofficial look at him in shock.

"But Heero I thought you'd be further against this decision than anyone. With how adamant you were about protecting Lacus after Ms Badgriuel tried to have her locked up how can you be ok with this now?

Heero slightly raised an eyebrow wondering how Kira knew about that before realizing that he was probably in the crowd that witnessed the event and just went unnoticed by The Gundam pilot, Heero was more or less ignoring everyone aside from the Ramius, Natarle, and Mu so the possibility wasn't out of the question. Another scenario was where Kira simply heard about it after the fact Heero did recall hearing various crew members and refugees alike speaking about how he took the commanding officers at gun point to protect Lacus so even if Kira didn't actually witness it word of the event could have likely reached his ears

"It's not that I agree but I know why it was necessary, Ramius needed to safeguard the lives of those on board this ship and as reluctant as I am to admit it ironically saved Lacus' life as well."

"How could it have possibly done that?!"

"Had this ship been shot down everyone onboard would have died including Lacus."

Kira was about to protest but couldn't find the words to argue. As much as he hated to admit what Heero said was true.

"That being said I don't intend on letting this hostage scenario drag on very long." Heero said causing everyone who heard to towards him.

"Are you out of your mind? We need Clyne in order to keep the enemy at bay. Even if with a large portion of the enemy's force has been eliminated they still have the stolen G weapons and what happens with Ms Clyne has nothing to do with you." Natarle said.

"Zaft forces aren't going to turn this area into a battle field as long as Lacus is present since doing so could potentially put her at risk even if she was back in their hands. Also while the G weapons aren't necessarily destroyed I did more the enough damaged to all them that they won't be back for some time."

This made everyone's eyes widen with shock.

"Tha-that's impossible. Those weapons are the most powerful mobile suits ever created!" Exclaimed a crewman.

'Maybe in this world.' Heero thought before replying.

"If you don't believe me look over the footage of the Archangel's recording of the fight also." Heero turned back to Natarle.

"Also I remember making very clear that I didn't intend on letting you and the crew keep ahold of Lacus long enough to bring her to an EA base for interrogation or use as a bargaining chip."

Natarle narrowed her eyes but kept silent when Ramius decided to speak with the Gundam pilot.

"Yuy I'm not against the idea of you returning Ms Clyne to Zaft forces personally but you have to realize if she was returned now of all times we'd be taking a huge risk. As for the stolen G weapons we'd have to look over the footage first before we can really believe you." Ramius said.

"By all means."

Heero didn't really have a problem with them needing proof of the damaged fake Gundams, with the situation of the destroyed Montgomery along with all the GINNs Zaft forces brought with them the Archangel's crew didn't really have time to spectate what Heero was doing so it made sense that everyone was actually unaware that he more or less defeated the stolen mobile suits at least for the time being.

"Good and just so we're clear I want you to hold off on returning Ms Clyne to Zaft until we've finished viewing it.

"Roger that."

XXXXX

"Nicole are you okay?" Athrun asked as he met the Blitz's pilot in the hall of the Vessallious.

"Yeah though Dearka has a punctured arm and his mobile suit is is even worse shape."

"I've heard and Yzak's even worse off."

"From what I've been heard he had a lot of shrapnel in his face on top of multiple third degree burns covering his body."

Athrun inwardly shuddered at the memory of how Yzak's received the said third degree burns. While the Aegis pilot didn't visually witness his teammate being set on fire Yzak's did more than enough screaming to make it pretty clear he was in a lot of pain prior to losing consciousness.

Still while Athrun wouldn't have wished that on the Duel's pilot what happened was Yzak's own fault. He should've have been more cautious about challenging the unknown Mobile suit especially with how it defeated Nicole, Dearka and even Athrun himself on its own but Yzak's hotheaded nature combined with his self superiority beliefs often caused him to overlook any semblance of possible danger under the assumption a natural could never harm him in any way and it seems that arrogance landed him in the medical bay.

"Say Athrun." Nicol said shaking the Zaft red from his line of thought before continuing.

"Do you think that guy we fought was really Natural?"

Athrun found himself unable to immediately answer. The thought of a fellow Coordinator fighting for a militia hell bent on the genocide of the Plant's citizens didn't exactly bode well with him (or anyone living in the Plants) but the possibility wasn't exactly off the table considering Kira was fighting for the Earth forces.

And the idea that a natural could pilot a mobile suit or that they had the level of skill the enemy pilot shown wasn't something that was a particularly cheery thought especially with how easily that pilot decimated the entire La Cruset team and that wasn't including the part where they destroyed an entire Nazca class single handedly with one shot.

"I don't know. To be honest the idea of them being a Coordinator like us would just raise questions as to why one of our own is fighting for the EA when they're trying wipe us out would normally be something then I'd like to think was out of the question. But with the skill that pilot displayed I don't think that's the case."

"Do you think we have any chance of winning against them?"

Athrun took a few moments to truly think about the particular question. As much as he would have wanted to ensure his teamate that victory was possible saying such a thing could hardly carry an real amout of truth especailly since the unkown mobile pretty mucn annihlated the entire team.

"All I can tell you is that it's likely gonna take a large amount of resources especailly after how we faired against them."

"You mean the only way to take that guy down might be with overwhelming numbers?"

"As reluntant as I am to admit it yeah, with the way they easily beat us I don't know if any single pilot in all of Zaft could ever hope to match them."

"If it going to take multiple squadrons to bring this enemy pilot down then they have to be one of us wether we want to accept it or not, it might go against your dad's philosophy of all Coordinators being united but there's no way a Natural could ever be capable of what that pilot did."

"Yeah I know." Athrun said more to himself then Nicole trying to assure himself that wha his teammate said was indeed the case. 'That has to be it, like Nicol said there's no way a Natural that skilled could ever exist.' Wanting to deny the idea of a Natural having that kind of prowess more out of hidden fear rather than knowledge that the average Natural couldn't win against a Coordinator on even terms.

"Anyway we should probably check in with the Commander, odds are he's already sent in a report and record footage of that Mobile suit to the council and he might have more news concerning Lacus." Nicole said walking out of the hall.

"Alright." Athrun said following close behind his teammate.

'Father is going to be pissed when he hears about that new Mobile suit and its pilot.'

XXXXX

"Th-this unbelievable." A shocked crewman of the Archangel as those currently stationed on the bridge watched a recording of Heero's fight with the four stolen G weapons.

"Your telling me." Another said.

"It's gonna be a while before the enemy recovers from that."

"With this guy on our side we don't have to even worry about Zaft forces coming after us.' After seeing this I think he can pretty much mop with anyone from Zaft."

To say what the Crew members were viewing wasn't what they expected or hoped for was well beyond an understatement. They were hoping that Heero would at least be able to hold his own as good as Kira and Mu but what the footage showed blow all expectations and hopes out the window.

Heero didn't simply hold his own and live, he single handedly did what the entire could only dream of and practically annihilated the Zaft team the stole the other G weapons and to add to the Crews shock even further the an entire battalion of GINNs along with one of the Zaft Ship.

"So are you satisfied?" Heero inquired in a monotone voice not really caring abut what the recording showed, while he would make sure to keep himself in peak form for any future battles looking over the footage was usless.

He already had the data on the stolen mobile suit's capabilities and saw them first hand. Needless to say he was far from impressed two of them had major weakeness that were ealisy exploitable, there overall performance while without a doubt was supperior to any mass production unit they didn't come close to living up to the title of Gundams and the pilots were rather disapointing to fight. in terms of skills they were better then common everyday pilots but nowhere near the level of a true gundam pilot, hell Heero could've easily mopped the floor with them even using his original Wing Gundam granted it was also far above the fake Gundams in terms of performance but still the fact was the pilots were rather weak and the only one to show any majer potential to becoming something above the average ace was the pilot of the Aegis though he was no Roland Quinby but the potential existed none the less.

The mass production mobile suit known as the GINN was somewhat stonger then a Leo though if squadrens of the two fought Heero would put his money on the Leos since they had sheer quantity on their side and the gap in quality wasn't particularly wide by any means. In simpy terms unless each one was piloted by an above average pilot or the mustered numbers in the hundreds GINNs weren't really much of a threat.

Still in spite of the dissapointment Heero was met with he didn't intend to let his guard down since he was well aware overconfidence was something that could easily be one's downfall no matter how strong they were.

"Ye-y-yes, you did far more than we could of imagined." Ramius answered.

"I know I saw a few glimmers of what you could do but I gotta say your skills are well beyond what me, Kira, or any other ace pilot from either said could even hope to reach." Mu admitted somewhat reluctantly since he took pride in his own skills but after seeing the full extent or what he believed was the full extent of Heero's abilities he's wasn't even going to argue the fact that Heero was a top tier pilot hell he'd admit Heero was possibly the best pilot in the entire cosmic era. 'Forgot what I said about this kid potentially being the game changer we need, he IS the game changer we need.'

Kira could only stare wide eyed at what he saw. Back when the fighting started a part of him was worried for Heero since he volunteered to take on the G weapons by himself while Kira and Mu tried to save the Montgomery. A large portion of Kira thought Heero would be overwhelmed by the combined power of Athrun and his teammates but if the recording was anything to go by that assumption could not be further from the truth.

In fact the by polar opposite happened and Heero did on his own what the entire Crew of the Archangel could scarcely even dream of and not only defeated the entire Zaft team but made them look like a rag tag group of complete amateurs. Kira was both worried and relieved.

The former because now instead of fearing for Heero safety he feared for the life of his childhood friend especially since it now dawned on him that Heero could very easily wipe Athrun and his team out the next time the showed up. They may have had the other four Gundams from Heliopolis but that really didn't count for anything if what had happened when they fought Heero was anything to go by. Kira could only pray Athrun wouldn't show up again now that he knew doing so would practicaly be the equivalent

The latter was because had Heero been fighting along side Zaft instead; that was a scenario Kira really didn't want to imagine especially after seeing just how massive the gap was between the two of them. Had Heero decided to view the Archangel as a target for elimination the futures of everyone on board would have been downright bleak.

Natarle maintained a stoic expression for the sake of professionalism as an EA solider but even she was shocked, back when Heero first showed up on board she had simply wanted to have his Mobile suit seized and studied for EA's benefit and simply have Heero executed to remove him from the equation but the teen dashed that idea when informed everyone of the mobile suit's self detonation feature.

After seeing Heero's unprecedented skills in battle the second in command thoughts went from seeing Heero as a liability that needed to be disposed of to a potential asset the EA needed to get a hold of. Unfortunately that plan was already in a bind before it could even begin.

Heero wasn't the type who held loyalty to any military and on top of that there was no way to forcefully keep him tied to the EA like she also planned to do with Kira. At least when it came to the latter he had a few friends that could be used as bargaining tools to make him comply but Ramius already agreed to turn over the closest person that could even be used against Heero.

As much as Natarle hated to admit it seemed all she could do was hope Heero stayed with the Archangel until the end of the war. At the very least however she could take solace in the fact he wasn't fighting for Zaft, granted he was a Natural so they'd never let him into their ranks or even fight along side them as an unofficial ally but still.

"Now that we've established that I can deal with those stolen Mobile suits I'm gonna found someone amongst the enemy who can be trusted enough to give Lacus to."

Heero said leaving the Bridge and entering the hallway only to be greeted by the sight of a teen girl in a pink dress with red hair tied in a short ponytail with her tilted downward preventing anyone from seeing her eyes.

Next to her was a boy with dirty(colored, not literally dirty) blond hair and orange tinted glasses along with another boy with block hair and a girl with short brown hair who judging by their posture were probably a couple. All three teens seemed to be trying to comfort the girl while another uncomfortable looking teen with black hair just stood silently behind the group.

Heero could only guess someone she cared about was on board the Montgomery or one of the ships that was with it before they got destroyed. Whatever the case Heero wasn't going to waste his time getting involved right now (or even in the future for that matter), he had to return Lacus to Zaft forces while the chance had presented itself. Or so he thought

"Why?" The quiet voice of Red haired girl asked as Heero passed by the group causing to turn and face the group.

"Flay there's nothing he could have done." The boy with orange glasses said but the girl now known as Flay ignored him to tilted her head up to face Heero revealing a grief stricken and rage filled expression.

"Why did you let daddy die?!"

"Sorry man her dad was on board the Montgomery. I'm Tolle Koenig by the way" Said the black haired boy.

"Heero Yuy and there was nothing I could do about the Montgomery."

"Lair!" Flay screamed before continuing.

"You let the Coordinators kill daddy. Not only that but you're protecting the Coordinator girl when you're supposed to be one of us!"

"I don't recall being a member of this ships Crew."

"You idiot, you're supposed to be a Natural like all of us, so why didn't you save daddy why are you helping that pink haired bitch?!" Flay demanded causing Heero's eyes to narrow slightly in anger but he kept his cool none the less.

"It was already too late Montgomery when we arrived and I don't care about my or Lacus' genes, I'm helping her because it's what I decided." Heero said before turning to leave.

"You faked that test didn't you? You're actually one of those monsters!" Flay yelled out only to be ignored as Heero reached the end of the hall.

"Calm down Flay everything's gonna be alright." The boy with orange glasses said putting his hand on Flay's shoulder only for her to swat it away.

"How do you figure that? Both of your parents are still alive!"

"Sai maybe we should give Flay some time to herself." The brown girl said before she turned to leave the hall along with Tolle before Sai followed.

XXXXX

"Heero I'm glad to see you and the others returned safely." Lacus said when Heero entered the room she was being kept in.

"I could say the same of you. It's a relief to know to know no one hurt you."

"Oh there's no need to worry aside from being used as a hostage they didn't try to harm me in any way." Lacus replied leaving out the part where Flay personally brought her to the bridge in a desperate attempt to save her father.

While Lacus didn't especially like the idea of the reddette trying to use her life as a bargaining tool she didn't begrudge her either. If anything she simply felt sorry for the girl and didn't want to run the risk of having Flay put in Heero's cross. While he wasn't a senseless killer by wasn't one to hesitate in pulling the trigger when he felt a situation demanded if the way he wiped out the EA forces who attacked the memorial crew she was traveling with was enough of a hint.

Still while she didn't necessarily begrudge them she held no pity for the EA squadron either, the memory of the fellow representative of the memorial crew's terrified expression before Lacus was forced to close her eyes to keep herself from watching their life being destroyed; how people could murder one another that way was beyond her.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Heero asked regaining the pop idle's attention before continuing.

"Your mind seemed occupied with other matters and from the looks of it not the best ones."

"Oh sorry I just found myself remembering the time you first rescued me."

"...Sorry I couldn't intervene sooner and save more lives."

Lacus' eyes widened with surprised.

"Heero I wasn't meaning to draw any form of guilt from you, what happened to the others who I traveling to Junius seven wasn't your fault. Besides if were in any need of redemption I'd say you already earned it when you fought to protect the people on this ship."

"If you say so." Heero conceded unsure of if protecting the people of the Archangel really counted since it put him in a position where he was forced to kill kill her fellow countrymen.

"Heero you've no need to feel guilty about shooting down Zaft personal." Now it was the Gundam pilot's turn to be surprised at how easily the pop idol seemed to be able to read him before she continued.

"While there's joy in the loss of life that occurred during the fighting more than anything I'm just glad to see you're safe."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "We only met a few hours ago."

"Yes but I still consider you a dear friend regardless."

Heero couldn't help but smile the girl in front of him held much compassion in her not unlike Relena who treated the gunshot would he received when he first met Duo, looking back Heero coudn't help but wander what Lacus would have done had she been in Relena's shows, something told Heero she'd have probably more or less done the same.

"I see, in that case I'll think of you the same way."

"You really mean it?" Lacus almost beamed catching Heero off guard seeing as the girl in question was a famous pop idol in the Plants and a well adored one at that from how others on the ship made it sound so one would naturally be led to believe she had lots of friends, enough so that having one more would believe.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome but right now we need to get you back to Zaft while the opportuniy is present."

"Oh Ok. Are we going to head go meet them right now?"

"No I actually needed to know if there was anyone amongst the Zaft forces who we could trust to bring you back to their ship without trying anything that could endanger anyone."

"Umm maybe my fiance Athrun, he's a Zaft pilot."

"If your certain he can trusted. Is there any way to find out if he is amongts those we fought?" Heero said.

"Ac-actually I can vouch he was there." Another voice said causing both teens to turn to the door where Kira was standing.

"How did you speak to him during the fighting?" Heero asked.

"No he's actually the pilot of the Aegis."

Heero slightly raised an eyebrow upon hearing, had he not been on a tight schedual to insure Lacus' safety in the future he'd have probably felt inclined to inqurie how Kira knew the Aegis' pilot was Lacus' fiance but he really didn't have time.

"Alright I'll get in contact with Zaft forces and requested the Aegis pilot to meet me to retrieve Lacus."

Suddenly the girl with short brown hair along with Tolle with the blond with the orange tinted glassesd following behind came in the room and spoke."Yeah about that we kind of all decided we wanted to help. I'm Mirrilia haw by the way and the guy in the glasses is Sai Argyle."

Tolle was the next to speak up. "The Crew may be okay with doing this but we're not, just let us know where you want to meet the Zaft forces and we'll take care of the rest."

"Roger that." Heero said. while he'd normally not accept help from complete strangers but it wasn't like therer was anyone on the ship he came close to considering a friend(Aside from Lacus) and allowing help would save him the trouble of hacking the Achangel's frencencies and systems to contact Zaft and open the hatch so he make an excpection here.

"Find Lacus a space suit and bring her to the hanger I'll be waiting inside Wing Zero."

XXXXX

Keegan had to admit even though he was keeping a stoic demeanor he couldn't deny the pilot of the otherworldly mobile suit had impressive skills.

'This pilot will prove difficult to subdue even with all the resources we have at our disposal.' The council member thought no longer certain that the original plan he had in place would work anymore.

"Roland what do you make of this?" Keegan asked referring to the battle footage

Roland stared at the footage for a few more moments before finally answering.

"Well I'll have to admit this pilot is proving to be far more dangerous than I had anticipted."

Taking notice of how easily the stolen G weapons were being beaten in the recording Roland continued. "I have to wander though if that's the only facter playing out in this video.

"What do you mean."

"Well I already suspected to La Cruset team would fail at destorying or capturing the otherworldly mobile suit but I have to say they proved far less of challenge then I anticipated, seeing this pitifil performance they put up against the otherworldly mobile suit makes me have to question if assigning them the stolen G weapons was a good idea after all, if things continue at this rate they'll be destory well before Zaft has a chance to look over the battle data."

Keegan put his hand under his chin as he pondered Roland's claim. while he may have dismissed that particular implication if it had come from someone else that wasn't a wise choice since the statemnt came from Roland. while he was younger the standard pilot he had accumolated mire than enough experience in a short time span to properly size up the strenghts and weaknesses of others as well as the flow of a fight better then most from a spectative position alone giving a great deal of wieght to his wordsand as things stood losing a chance to obtain data on the G weapons via their swift destrudction was something that Keegon could ill afford especailly since he had made the decision to refrian from having Roland or an other Zaft pilots who were loyal to him more so than the Plant's as a whole travel to the After Colony world for the time being.

Even though Rolonad had informed there was too little of the destoryed GINNs for anyone who may lay eyes on them to figure out what they were there was still an extremely likely chance that someone else would be sent to investigate the anomoly the vortexes conneting the worlds whenever they were created would give off in the otherworld as well as disappearance of the pilot and mobile suit that had come to the Cosmic put it simply Keegan duduced it was best to wait for the fire to die down or dim at the very least before returning to the otherworld.

In othersords if the mobile suits stolen from Heliopolis were destoryed so early in the game before any type of battle data was exctracted from them Keegan would be in a bind at least as far as coming up with new mobile suits to surprass and/or replace older modols. while the Guize was already intended to replace the GINN since only a limited number of CGUE's were mass produced Keegan suspected he might have had to create something that was above the G weapons in terms of battle performance to increase Roland's chances of success of capturing the mobile suit from the other world.

"That would be truly troublesome."

"Maybe but we may need to be prepared for the worst, if the La Cruset team was smart they'd consider avoidence as an option but having thse G weapons is likely to lead them to believe they have the best chance of winning aginst they other pilot out of anyone in Zaft."

XXXXX

Finishing his report on the battle that had taken place the Commander of the Zaft forces tasked with destoed the legged ship and capturing the Strike Rue La Cruset sent it along with footage of the battle to the Plants.

The Commander was honestly a bit curious as to what the council's reactrion to the video would be. No doubt Zala would make an ass himself and blow a fuse and others and practically shit their pants but still it would be interesting to see what suggestions they make about how to deal with the situation.

"Commander." Athrun's voice said as the doors to Rue's office opened revealing the Zaft Red along with his fellew pilot Nicol.

"We were wandering if you decided how we were going to go around rescuing Lacus."

"Actually I was about to call you about that. I just got an intersting message from the legged ship."

Athrun remained silent waiting for his supperior to continue.

"They want you to might up with a machine called Wing Zero to retrieve Lacus apparenlty they want you to come alone."

Athrun's eyes widined considerably, while he already swore to himself he'd rescue her from the EA he didn't expect things to go this conveniently.

"Um sir what''s this Wing Zero mahine?" Nicole suddenly asked.

"It's probably that unkown mobile suit that defeated your entire team."

Nicole grimnanced at the reply as he remember how close to death he was when facing that monsterous machine. while he could never admit it out loud he was atually rather afraid of facing it again and now worried for Athrun since that was likely the machine supposedly bringing Lacus to him. If it turned out to be a trap Athrun wouldn't be coming back alive.

"Alright if that's the case I'll meet with them." Athrun said turning to leave before Nicole protested.

"But that Aegis is too damaged to use and none of the other G weapons are in much bettrer condition."

"We still have GINNs on board I'll just use one of them." Athrun said leaving.

"Yeah but.."Nicole said to himself before Rue placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him'

"That's enough Amalfi. I know unsure about going through with this but if there's any chance to rescue Lacus we have to take it."

'And if this Wing Zero is actually that new machine this might be a chance to see who's piloting it.' Rue thought as certain contemplations went through his mind.

While the demand was for Athrun to show up alone there was simply too much of an opportunity to see this newcomer in action and maybe shoot them down if needed to pass up so the commander didn't actually pan of staying back while his subbordinate met with this pilot.

XXXXX

"We're opening the Hatch now. Kira will be launching right behind you." Mirriallia said before the window displaying her face dissapaered from Wing Zero's main monitor.

Heero then turned his attention to Lacus who was now in a flight suit with the skirt of her dressed bunched upin the midsection giving off the visiual impression that she was pregnant and layingacross Heero's lap in a bridal like positon.

"You' best hold on tight, I'm not gonna launch at full speed but you should still hold on to me the best you can since you'll still be hit be great deal of G force when we exit the ship.

"Um ok." Lacus said wrapping her arms around Heero's shoulders as tightly as she was able to whilst looking away from heero to hide slight blush that hold on her face.

After around 5 to 10 second wind Zero shot out the leg of the ship by its own power at speeds that surprassed the catapult Lacus quickly found out Heero wasn't kidding about the G fore warning. Lacus felt her body practiculy being smashed into Heero's inciting a deeper blush before the Wing Zero had finally exited the ship and decelerated with the Strike following from the other leg of the Archangel.

"Say Heero could I ask you two things?" Lacus suddenly inquired

"Yes."

"I know I honestly admitted I didn't want to marry him but you you please spare Athrun, he's not a bad person." Heero didn't find the request unreasable pursay but the fact was since Athrun was the pilot of the Aegis he'd likely presue the Archangel. while Heero didn't bear any personal attachments to those on board he had still promised to protect them in exchange for letting stay on their ship.

"I'll do what I can, but I can't make any guarentees." Heero answered honestly. While he could easily just disable the Aegis battles were ultimately unperdictable and if some unexpected facter made Athrun too much of a threat Heero's hands could essentially become tied.

"That's all I can ask." Lacus replied surprising Heero.

He didn't why for the life of him but when he gave his answer a part of him was worried that Lucas would be angry and maybe even resent him and that the things played out differently from waht he had anticipated he found a sense of relief overtake him.

The Gundam pilot could only wonder how a girl who he had only recently met had this kind of influence on him, the only other person able to do this was Relena and as surprising as it may have been the first time Heero would never have thought there was anyone else could've achieved the same feat.

"But the next thing I want to ask is something that is something I don't want left to chance, I know it's selfish of me but..." Lacus said.

"It's fine just ask me and I'll do it." Heero said surprising himself with how easily he was about to make whatever promise that the pop idol planned to request.

"Please live through this war. I'd like to see again in see you again in the future. So you mustn't die."

"Believe me I don't plan to, I promise you'll definetely see me again."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Also there's something I want to request myself."

"What is it." Lacus asked curiously.

"If Zaft forces decide to ask you about me just tell them everything you know." Heero said shocking Lacus.

"But Heero wouldn't that get in the way of your pursuit of Roland and Keegan if they're aware you're after them?"

"It's probably safe to assume they already know. Besides I don't want you to be imprisoned or executed for refusal to assist Zaft, I'd rather just deal with having harder time finding them if it comes down to it."

"If you're certain."

"I am, I don't want you to get hurt for my sake. But for now let's just worry about getting you back to Zaft."

After a few more minutes Heero arrived at the designated point where the transfer would take place and found a lone GINN.

'Makes sense considering the number I did on the Aegis.'

XXXXX

Upon seeing the unkown Mobile suit or rather Wing Zero heading towards him along with the Strike following close behind Athrun set the radio to an open channel.

"This is Athrun Zala I came alone as you requested."

Immediately Athrun got a response from Wing Zero.

"This is Heero Yuy I've come to give you back Lacus Clyne." Heero said as he and the Strike came to a stop in front of the GINN and Wing Zero's hatch opened revealing two figures as Athrun did the same the same with his GINN.

Due to how dark it was in the void of space Athrun couldn't see the figures very clearly which Heero took notice of before asking Lacus to gesture to Athrun letting him know it was indeed her.

"Goodbye Heero." Lacus said before exiting the Wing Zero and heading over to the GINN.

After she got to the mobile her fiance his in Athrun decided to turn his attention to the Strike for the first time.

"Kira." The Zaft red said getting his childhood friend's attention.

"Please come back with us. You don't bvelong with the EA."

"Athrun I already told I have people of the ship I have to protect; I won't join Zaft no matter how many times you ask." Kira replied much to Athrun's frustration.

Before the Bluenette could press the issue any further another signal apeared on his suit's rader and Heero's alarm went off before he pulled back and avoid a shot from the beam Rifle of a CGUE shocking everyone save for Heero at the scene.

Athrun turned in the direction of the CGUE in question and saw it pull out of violet colored beam saber confirming his suspicion of who was piloting the CGUE.

"Co-Commander what are you doing."

Rue La Cruest laughed before answering."Taking the Wing Zero down." With that Rue made a beeline taking brief notice of the Strike's presence but decided to keep his focus on the WIng Zero since it was his original target.

In repsonse to Rue's action Heero pulled out his own beam saber and parried Rue attack before attempted his own attack which Rue blocked but was pushed back due to Wing Zero's supperier strength.

Heero charged Rue and attampted to run him through the cockpit only for RUe to pull to the side and make a charg of his own intending to cut Wing Zero in two through its torso only for Heero to block the blow and push back again only for Rue to respond by taking aim with his rifle.

Heero was about to utilize both his shoulder guns and shield simultaniously in order to not only block Rue's next attack but counter in the same move.

While the defensive part of hid pan worked when he fired his Gatling guns Rue brought up his own shield and block the attack. of course the result was the same as when Roland triend to block the Gatling shots and the bullets began tearing the shield apart piece by piece but Rue was wise enough of pull himself out of the line of fire before his suits arm was completely reneded.

Soon after Rue made another beeline for Wing Zero with his beam saber at the ready. Of course the monent Rue was close enough to attack and swung his Beam saber Heero blocked the attack locking blades with the Zaft commander.

'Gotta admit this guy's got some moves.' Heero thought before smirking. This commander was definetely a good step above the previous aces he just fought and with a good enough mobile suit he could probably push Heero to use a good portion of his actual prowess.

'But he's got nothing on Zex Marquiss.' The gundam pilot before deciding to utilize a move he picked from his fight with Roland and head butted the CGUE damaging its main camera and pushing Rue back before using the slight openong created to sever the CGUE's beam saber arm.

'Dammit!' Rue thought before pulling back and taking aim with his rifle as Heero opened his shoulder Gatlings again. The Zaft commander could only grit his teeth in frustration as he realized the Gattling alone would tear him apart even if he tried to block them with the remains of his shield.

Still if he could just shoot the cockpit of Wing Zero he'd win, has far as the odds were stacked against him he couldn't just back out now since he more or less violated the terms of the deal so Heero probably had no intention of sparing him even if he surrendered so the only option was the roll the dice and hope they landed in his favor however...

"Rue La Cruset pull back at once and cease your attack." Lacus suddenly damanded stopping the commander in his tracks.

Heero took notice of this disengaged the Gatling guns while the order wasn't direted at him he decided to cease combat since he didn't want to risk Lacus' well being but kept his guard up since Rue could try to pull some at the last second.

Kira who was too shocked to do anything when the fight started breathed a sigh of relief at the revelation that the danger had been averted.

"Do you wish to turn this place into a battle field in the presence of a representative of the Junius seven memorial only to die here."

Rue felt a perk of anger rise in him. 'That woman has a lot of nerve pointing out my situation. still...'

"Of course not." Rue said before turning around and heading back to the Vesalious.

"Thank you for stopping Heero." Lacus said.

"I wasn't bringing you with the intention of fighting to begin with. but you're welcome all the same." Heero replied before turning his attention to Kira.

"Come on Kira we need to head back."

"Ri-Right." Kira replied as he and Heero began heading back to the Archangel leaving Lacus and Athrun alone as the latter turned the GINN around and began heading back to the Vesalious in frustration.

'Dammit Kira why won't you come to your senses? the EA's just using you!'

Lacus meanwhile just sat quietly in Athrun's lap as the two returned to the Zaft ship.

'Please keep your promise Heero, I meant it when I said I wanted to see you again.'

* * *

 **And that's another chapter down sorry for the wait my hours at my job increased and as I said said even though my PC is fixed the microft programs are gone and getting them back is probably going to be am loy more complicated than a lot of you think so I'm using a wordpad in the meantime though it doesn't have spelling check so it was harder to spot mistakes without red lines got as many as I could find.**

 **as for the chapter itself I actually had to change the dialouge a few times because I would have ended up putting minor but notible plot holes that would have done the story no good and with the flow of favorites and followers that have been coming in even during the wait well I'm now pretty sure a lot of you are exited for this story so I guess I really gotta give it my all.**

 **beyond that plot wise or reaction wise everyone on the Archangel now know Heero's true abilities...or so they think. they're at least well aware that they're EXTREMELY lucky that Heero's fighting for them since he's more powerful than they could have imagined after seeing the recording of him annilhating the La Crustet team.**

 **Athrun and Nicole are in deniel about the idea of Heero being a Natural though the reason is more out fear than arrogance. keep in mind the main thing keeping Zaft on par with the EA in terms of military strengh in spite of the difference in Numbers is that Coordinators not only have better machines and ship but on average a Coodinater tends to be a better pilot than any Natural even in terms of skill. simply put the difference in the strength of the average Coordinater and Natural is kind the main reason Coordinators are able to stand against the EA so it would make sense that the idea of a Natural with a skill level so high that no one in their military can really match them probably isn't something they'd be happy with since it could mean taht they lose their main advantage in the overall war.**


	5. Derailed

**Okay here's the fifth chapter of a new reason to live. I decided who I'm going to pair Kira with based on suggestion I've received and all I'll say is its someone you wouldn't normally pitcher him being with basically its a REALLY ship and probably going to be a hard one since the person in question is probably one of the last females who'd be compatible with him. in simply terms I'm really gonna be breaking the traditional mold with this one. beyond that I don't really got much else to say sooooooo...on with the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer I don't own gundam seed/wing**

* * *

"We'll be rendezvousing with the eighth fleet within another hour." Marrue Ramius announced on the bridge to the Archangel.

"Yeah though I wander how they're gonna react to that Heero Yuy kid?" Mu replied.

"They'll likely want information on his Mobile suit." Ramius replied.

"Somehow I really doubt he's gonna tell them anything." Mu said stating what had become plainly obvious at this point.

Since the time he had returned Lucas to Zaft a few members of the crew Natarle more so than others have tried to get information out of Heero about Wing Zero only for him to tell them it was powerful enough to deal with any enemies that pursued the Archangel in the future but nothing beyond that. They couldn't study the suit due to the self detonation it was armed with, the most the Mechanics were aloud to do was reload the shoulder Gattlings and that was only when Heero was around to supervise the process.

As far as overall trust went Heero kept his end of the deal if what he had done to the Zaft team that had stolen the other G weapons from Heliopolis was enough of a hint but in spite of being an (unofficial) ally of the Archangel Heero pretty much ignored everyone choosing to keep any conversations that were irrelevant to future missions to their absolute minimum. All in all he didn't seem interested in befriending anyone on the ship, hell the only person he seemed remotely interested in getting to know was long gone and likely back at the Plants by now, actually it as safe to assume she was already there by now since almost two weeks passed since Heero gave her back to the enemy.

"That makes two of us." Ramius replied.

"At the very least we don't have to worry about Zaft nearly as much as before."

"I know as long as we have Heero and Wing Zero with us the stolen G weapons are practically no threat anymore but there's still the possibility that Zaft might decide to come after us with a lot more units than just the GAT series that they got there hands on and after what Heero did to the G weapons along with a good portion of the reinforcements they brought with them when they attacked the escort unit we were supposed to meet with I wouldn't put it past them to utilize a lot more resources to hunt us down."

"Yeah you're probably right, still we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

"I wish I could be as enthusiastic as you."

"Well what can I say? Negative thinking never got anyone anywhere."

Natarle who had been standing beside Ramius silently found herself inwardly groaning. While Mu La Flaga was indeed right in his claim that negative thoughts wouldn't do any good for anyone she was also aware that there potential future problems that would grow from bad to worse if there weren't any steps taken to deal with them. They mainly revolved around the massive disadvantage that EA was at in terms of weapon quality. When the war first started everyone simply assumed the EA would simply overwhelm the Plant's forces through sheer numbers but that was quickly disproven when Zaft forces introduced mobile suits to the field.

The GAT series mobile suits made on Heliopolis were intended to remedy that problem but Zaft all but dashed that plan when they stole four of the five G weapons and from that point on everything hinged of the Strike's power at least until Heero showed up with Wing Zero. Upon seeing how similar it was to the Gat the Wing Zero immediately held the promise of being another potential trump card against Zaft aside from the Strike.

Unfortunately that hope was thrown out the window when Heero decided to arm his suit with a self detonation device. Frustrations only continued to accumulate when he refused to allow the crew to imprison Lacus and take her back to an EA base for interrogation and to be used as the bargaining chip and it didn't help to ease the frustrations when Heero showed enough skill with a mobile that was easily above any ace from either side of the war since he indirectly made it clear that he was by no means loyal to the EA. Overall Wing Zero and Heero showed an near endless amount of potential and promise but none of which that could be counted on to come into fruition. The best anyone could hope for is that Heero would stay with the Archangel at least until it got to Alaska if not for the entirety of the war.

Because of this the EA would be back to square one having to put all its hope for winning the war in the Strike's power and potential and its unofficial pilot Kira and as such he couldn't be allowed to leave the Archangel. If there was a way to make it up to him Natarle would do it but as things stood it was absolutely necessary to keep him on board to pilot the Strike.

She had one plan in mind for how to do so but unfortunately it was going to be rather underhanded but it had to be done for the EA's sake, she just had to waited until she, Mu, and Ramius met with vice admiral Hammelton.

'I'm sorry yamato but this needs to be done.'

XXXXX

"How in world could our agents have missed the EA building a suit like that!" A man all but screamed.

'How do we know it was even the EA who built it?"

"Who else could it have been?"

"It doesn't matter! What needs to be asked is how the EA managed to build a mobile suit that powerful, its capabilities are far above even that of the GAT Series."

"If the EA has something that powerful at their disposal do we even have any hope of winning this war?"

"Are you insane? If we give up here and surrender the Natural's will oppress us as they did before we decided to break away from the Earth."

The current chairmen of the Plants Siegel Clyne inwardly groaned as the rest of the Zaft council bickered and argued over the sudden appearance of the enigmatic mobile suit now known as Wing Zero piloted by someone named Heero Yuy.

Still as pointless as they're arguing was it Siegel couldn't completely fault them for it. When it was discovered that the EA was making the GAT series on Heliopolis that on its own was unnerving since it could have very well effected the difference in weapon quality in a way that would not have played out in Zaft's favor, that was the entire reason the mission to steal the suits was carried out in the first place.

Still as much success as the said mission was met with the possibility of the course of the war changing was still very real as long as the EA had the Strike in the hands. If they managed to get it to a base to extract the data from the suit it would allow them to create their own mass production units based off the Strike's general design and if that were to happen the course of the war would without a doubt change drastically.

Now that the Earth Alliance had a mobile suit that even the G weapons couldn't seem to compete with and to make matters worse whoever this Heero Yuy was that was piloting it was they possessed an amount of skill that even the best Zaft reds would have a difficult time comparing to.

Still for all the near full blown panic this Heero Yuy was inducing on the Zaft council Siegel was still grateful for him bringing his daughter back to Zaft and honestly surprised when she explained to him that Heero had kept the EA from taking her to one of their bases and even more so when she told him of how Heero actually destroyed the EA squadron that attacked the memorial crew heading to Junius seven and made the decision to return her to the Plants of his own volition. Still when Siegel asked his daughter about Wing Zero's origins she simply claimed that was the one thing Heero wouldn't tell her. Siegel couldn't exactly tell why but he had the feeling his daughter was holding something back but from what Lacus did tell him about the enigma known as Heero Yuy he didn't sound like someone who actually held loyalty to the EA. Still if Heero truly felt like hiding the origins of his mobile Suit did that mean it wasn't actually created by the EA or Orb? If not than just where did such a machine come from?

Regardless of any personal speculation of Wing Zero's origins the chairmen may have carried they'd have to be put on hold for now as Siegel decided to address the entire council.

"Everyone calm down." Siegel said gaining the attention of everyone else before continuing.

"No good will come of us arguing amongst one another about where this mobile suit came from, all we can do now is decide what course of action to take."

"Siegel is correct, as things stand what we need to focus on is destroying or capturing the Wing Zero along with the Strike." Patrick Zala announced.

"Restricting it would be the far simpler." One of the council members immediately announced after Zala finished his sentence only for him to come up with an effective argument just as quickly.

"Be that as it may, capturing the suit would be far more beneficial to our cause. By capturing this Wing Zero we could use the power the Natural intend to wipe us out against them and force them to surrender as well as deter them from ever daring to bare their fangs at us again."

"But how could we possibly hope to capture that suit intact, its pilot is a lot more dexterous than the Strike's or even the team we had to take the rest of the G weapons." Another council member tried to argue.

"You truly believe that prowess displayed was due to the pilot? They're nothing more than a lowly Natural any skill that was shown was only due to Wing Zero's power alone."

Siegel found himself inwardly groaning. Leave to Zala to try and deny the idea that a Natural could aspire to any level that most Coordinators would have a hard time reaching; there was also speculation that the pilot was a Coordinator but Zala immediately argued against the idea saying all Coordinators stood united against Naturals. At this rate, Zala was going to end up causing the rest of the council to underestimate Wing Zero,s pilot and get a lot of Zaft pilots needlessly slaughtered. If he truly believed that what happened to the La Curset team was only by Wing Zero's power alone then Zala's arrogance was sinking to a whole new level of foolish, any experience pilot or high ranking commander would tell you that relying on a powerful machine alone wouldn't get one nearly as far as some may have believed which was easy to see if one just used some common sense, after all a weapon was essentially useless if the one wielding lacked the needed qualifications to bring out its full potential regardless of how powerful it was. Another way to put was that a veteran with a wooden sword was far more deadly then a complete novice with a sword made the strongest metal.

"But doesn't that just make the suit that much more dangerous?!"

"Yes as well as all the more beneficial if we were to capture it. The contributions it could make to our cause are endless." Zala announced.

'Our cause or yours.' Siegel wandered the reason being that since the destruction of Junius Seven Zala's agenda had changed and while he may have only talked about forcing Naturals to surrender unconditionally which was a goal that on its own could just lead to another conflict in the future Siegel had a growing suspicion that Zala intended to do something far more atrocious and no better than what Blue Cosmos intended to do to the Plants. In all honesty while the idea of the Wing Zero ending up in the hands of Blue Cosmos was beyond nightmarish for anyone living in the Plants, the idea of Zala ever got his hands on Wing Zero Siegel didn't want to think of the future that would come of it especially since he doubted it would be any better than the first scenario.

"If our mission is going to be to capture the suit than I may have a solution for accomplishing this." Another voice suddenly said causing everyone to turn to Keegan Brown.

"Oh and what exactly would that be?" Demanded Zala to which Keegan didn't even bother to show much as a shrug to in response.

"A specially trained squadron using the latest mobile suit we've developed the ZGMF-600 Guaiz **(And yes I know its actually specifically spelled GuAIZ but that too tedious to type repeatedly since I don't want to mess with the caps lock...or shift key anymore than I have to)** which is a newly a general purpose mobile Suit that incorporates technology from the GAT series led by Roland Quinby.

"And you think this team of is truly sufficient enough for the task? It wouldn't appeal to anyone here if this team failed to deliver on what promise you're implying for them to hold." Zala said.

"If you see a reason to doubt them then, by all means, we can just go with whatever course of action you think is best." Keegan retorted causing Zala to scowl in anger.

Siegel could only sigh inwardly since Zala brought this on himself, he tried to put pressure and Keegan to keep from taking the reigns of future missions against Wing Zero and Keegan responded by letting Zala have his way but at the cost that pressure was now on his own shoulders meaning the warning he use against Keegan basically thrown back in his face and that if he failed to have Wing Zero captured or at the very least destroyed he'd be forced to give the reigns to Keegan.

"Of course I'll make sure that suit is removed from the EA's hands and in our own."

'Zala don't you realize Keegan is just setting you up to humiliate yourself in front of the rest of the Council?' Siegel thought.

"Very well we'll leave it to you."

XXXXX

"This meeting is going to become stressful because of your wanting to be all secretive you know that right?" Mu La Flaga asked Heero who upon being requested by Ramius decided he would attend the meeting with Admiral Halberton who was charged with the supervision of the eighth fleet after being informed that the admiral requested to meet him in person.

"The only thing I intend to tell him is what I intend to do for the time being and that I can deal with any threat on the battlefield."

"Do you really think he'll be satisfied with just that?" Ramius asked.

"It doesn't matter if he's not, that's the only information I intend to disclose whether he likes it or not, personal information pertaining to me and more so Wing Zero is none of his business or that of any member of the EA." Heero said before thinking 'Or anyone of the Cosmic Era.'

"Well, I'm telling you now you're going to tick everyone we're going to meet off."

"I don't care." Heero said offhanded brushing off Mu's warning. The only reason he even agreed to attend the meeting at all was to find out what the Archangel's next course of action was and see if he could use it to his advantage to draw out Roland Quinby assuming he didn't simply go back to Heero's world in hopes of finding weaponry that could be used to further Zaft's campaign before leaving the Archangel and taking action to take out Keegan Brown and put an end to any ambitions they he had that involved potentially dragging people of the AC Era into the conflict raging between Natural and the Coordinators especially since they just got done going through the Eve wars which nearly resulted in the destruction of the AC world's version of Earth as such a new conflict was the last thing anyone there needed.

It was the main reason the preventers were founded to make sure the people of the AC Era didn't simply throw themselves into a new conflict and make all the sacrifices for piece a waste and continue on a path where Heero would be forced to risk repeating past mistakes like the one with the pacifist leaders or... that girl and her dog. Even if it met that Heero himself would essentially have no reason to live after this mission was done.

After a few minutes of walking through the halls of the Melenoas they had reached the office where Halberton and two other officers were waiting. After some quick introductions, Halberton began inquiring everything that had happened since the Archangel had escaped the destruction of Heliopolis. Heero was slightly surprised to learn that a deceased Admiral by the name of Garcia had tried to take the entire crew of the Archangel prisoner and steal the Strike along with the Archangel. While Heero didn't particularly see the EA in the most positive light considering the war and entire conflict was pretty much provoked by them he'd have thought the racial nature of the war would have kept all of Earth united at least enough that separate factions wouldn't try to one-up each other like how Ramius described those in command of the destroyed Artemis base were trying to one-up the Atlantic Federation for the benefit of the Eurasian republic.

It just went to show Heero was right in not truly trusting the EA. Once Ramius had finished giving her explanation of what happened during the Archangel's journey so far Halberton turned his attention to Heero Yuy and tried to question him about his part in the later part of the Archangel's journey. Upon being questioned about how he came into contact with Lacus Clyne Heero simply told the Admiral that during his search for any ship to board and travel with he stumbled across her life pod after the whatever fighting that had taken place had subsided and promised to help her return to the Plants after he found a ship to board. When questioned about Wing Zero he simply told the Admiral that it was created by private backers and that anything beyond could be left to Halberton's imagination. when the Admiral tried to flaunt the hypothetical card of simply seizing the Gundam Heero told him to go ahead since the only reward he'd receive was an explosion that would not only destroy the suit but also the Strike and Archangel taking the only hope the EA had of turning the tide of this war in their favor. Upon receiving the warning Halberton backed down from inquiring information on Wing Zero.

Upon being questioned about who he was Heero simply told Halberton he was something of a mercenary who was trained from an extremely early age. But nothing past that. Much to everyone's shock Halberton simply accepted Heero's explanation ignoring the complaints of one of the two officers with him.

"Well since we're just about done here I'm pleased to inform you Ramius that you're now going to officially be the captain of the Archangel, also a shuttle is being prepared to take the refugees you have onboard the Archangel back to Orb."

"Thank you, sir, but I have to ask why would you go to lengths so quickly for returning the Refugees back to Orb with Zaft hounding us."

"Well, just recently Orb has started accusing us of using the Refugees as human shields to keep Zaft forces at bay though strongly suspect they're receiving political pressure from Zaft."

It was then that Natarle decided to speak up. "Sir on that subject there's one matter that needs to be addressed is the matter pertaining to Kira Yamato. I don't believe it's wise to allow him to leave the Archangel." Natarle said sounding almost stoic but Heero noticed a tinge of regret in her eyes.

He suspected she was choosing her duty over personal emotions she might be having on the matter or towards Kira himself, if that was the case then the said regret would only grow, upon realizing this Heero remembered the man who raised him once told him.

 ** _'The only to live a good life is to act on your emotions.'_**

Clearly, Natarle could probably use that advise but Heero didn't intend to get involved in something that didn't concern him.

Ignoring the glare she was receiving from Ramius Natarle continued "I'd strongly forcing him to stay onboard perhaps we could keep someone on board he cares about..."

"Not another word lieutenant." Halberton said silencing Natarle before continuing

"Other members EA may take part in such a scheme but I won't Kira Yamato will leave the rest of the refugees as planned."

Natarle simply grunted in defeated as the Admiral addressed everyone. "Now if there's nothing else you're all dismissed."

XXXXX

"Keagan, are you really going to leave things in Zala's hands? you're surely aware that if he were to ever get ahold of the Wing Zero he'd only use it to commit genocide of the Natural's general population." Roland said.

"True but you know as well as I do that scenario won't come into fruition, he'll simply send either send a squadron of typical pilots or put the task in the La Cruset's team's hands neither of which will ever succeed."

"So, in the end, he'll just end up humiliating himself and be forced to hand over the reigns to you."

"More or less."

"That still leaves the question of what we're supposed to do in the meantime."

"For now all I'll be able to do is give enough leverage to move about of your own accord and help Zaft forces engage the eighth fleet of the EA when they launch the attack to wipe out the legged ship along with the Strike."

"Meaning I'll basically be operating independently of any other squadrons. Should I take this to mean you want me to engage to engage Heero Yuy?"

"Personally not just yet, allowing any those under Zala's command to fail at subduing him or shooting him down but I'll leave it at your own discretion."

"Got it however in that particular case I'd like to continue with the use of a standardize CGUE for the time being, at least until it's time for my squad to take center stage."

"Understandable. I'll make the necessary arrangements right away."

XXXXX

"Um, why exactly are you giving discharge papers?" Sai asked as he, Mirriallia, Tolle, Kuzzy, and Kira all stared at the paper sheets they handed by Natarle.

"It's against military regulations to have civilians take part in mission carried by the EA but because we were low on manpower when we left Heliopolis so we didn't have a choice at the time, however, that doesn't change the fact the regulations don't permit it so these papers will make it look like your simply leaving the EA."

"Um ok, but how will you guys fair once we're gone." Kira asked

"We'll manage besides we still have Yuy with us for the time being." Natarle said before thinking 'Even if he's more of a wild card than I'd prefer.'

"That's good to know, he can easily mop the floor with those Zaft pilots who took the other Gundams." Tolle said causing Kira to inwardly grimace at the thought of Athrun being killed by Heero went through his mind.

"Ye-yeah."

"All of you performed well and assisted us a great deal in getting this far." Natarle suddenly said before turning to Kira.

"Particularly you Yamato, while I won't deny I had my doubts about trusting you and for that, I apologize, I see now that without you we would have never made it off Heliopolis or the Artemis base and for that, you have my gratitude." Natarle said surprising the teen even further, the second in command of the Archangel was honestly one the last people he expected to praise him for anything. Maybe there was more to her than her by the book outlook on everything and near blind loyalty to the EA.

"Oh um thanks."

"Anyway, I wish luck with whatever you decide to do." Natarle said before turning around and walking off.

"Wow, I've gotta admit that was a little unlike her." Mirriallia said.

"Maybe she just finally warmed up to us." Sai said.

"Probably though did she really have to wait until the last second?" Tolle asked.

"It doesn't matter let's just head to the shuttle going to Orb." Mirriallia.

"Um you're the one who saved us right?" another voice said and everyone turned to see a small girl likely eight or nine years old standing at the entrance of the hallway staring at Kira holding two paper flowers.

"Um yeah." Kira answered before the girl ran up to him holding one of the paper flowers out.

"Its a present for protecting me and mommy."

"Thank you." Kira said as he took the flower and began to question if he really wanted to simply leave for Orb mainland and forget everything that's happened or if he wanted to protect those who would stay on the Archangel, while most of the Crew were still pretty much strangers there were a few he could consider friends who he was able to turn to in times of need such Mu and Murrue.

Badgiruel until now was someone Kira doubted he'd (or any of his friends) could become particularly close to especially with her near absolute loyalty to EA, but just now Kira truly wondered if there was more to her then just her belief in supporting the military.

"Ummm where's the other boy who protected us that everyone is saying is really strong?" The girl asked.

"You mean that Heero Yuy guy? I'm not really sure." Tolle said.

"I'm right here." Heero suddenly said standing at the opposite entrance the girl came from.

Immediately the girl ran up to Heero and held out the other paper flower. "This is for you! thank you for protecting all of us with him." The girl said referring to Kira.

"Your welcome." Heero said simply taking the flower before starring at it intently as the girl left and he began to remember his past where he met another girl who was walking her dog who did something similar for him.

Suddenly Flay who had previously been inwardly glaring at both Kira and Heero decided to speak. "I'm staying on this ship."

Upon hearing this everyone save for Heero turned to her with shocked eyes.

"Fl-flay you can't be serious!" Sai exclaimed.

"Yeah Flay I know you're upset about what happened to your dad but you really don't need to do this."

"I'm staying whether you guys like it or not." Flay said leaving out the entrance opposite of where Heero was standing. The Gundam had a pretty good idea of what her intentions but if the others were going to fall for it Heero wasn't going to bother stopping them as long as Flay left him alone he really didn't care what she did but if she tried to do anything to him she'd be in for a shocking awakening she would not enjoy.

"Say Heero if it's ok to ask what you're doing here?" Tolle suddenly asked

"Heading to my assigned room to get my flight suit and get ready to launch when Zaft shows up." Heero said before continuing on his way to his room without waiting for any reply.

"Wa-Wait you mean Zaft coming after us again?" Kuzzy asked.

"What else could I possibly mean?" Heero retorted slightly annoyed with the other teen's sense of denial at the situation before everyone on the Archangel.

"Whether you guys plan to stay or leave you'd best make a choice now." Heero said before heading off.

"Like there's even a choice with Flay deciding to stay." Sai said before heading in the direction of the Archangel's bridge.

"Well it's not like we can leave Flay on her own." Mirriallia said before following after Sai.

"It looks like its unanimous." Tolle said before following Mirriallia with Kuzzy not far beyond behind leaving Kira alone who was still unsure of what he wanted to do.

'I don't want to fight Athrun or kill anyone, the entire reason I was living on Heliopolis was to avoid getting involved in this war.' Kira then glanced at the flour the girl had given him before he felt his resolve steal itself.

'Still, I want to make sure everyone is safe, I don't want to go to war with Zaft or Athrun but I won't let everyone else die.'

XXXXX

"Umm Yzak are you ok?" Dearka who's arm had been regenerated and healed thanks to the medical technology Zaft had at its disposal asked the other Zaft red in the hangar bay of the Vessalious as the latter had various bandages covering different parts of his body including a large portion of his face obscuring one of his eyes. the eye that was left visible was almost completely bloodshot red from the majority of it blood vessels popping due to the sheer amount of anger and pure loathing Yzak Joule now held for Wing Zero and its pilot Heero Yuy.

He prided himself in the belief that as a Coordinator he stood above any Natural in existence and that as a Zaft red and the pilot of one of the stolen G weapons he was unbeatable on the battlefield. But the Natural known as Heero Yuy had to show up out of nowhere and not only beat him but done it so thoroughly that it not only left a lot of nasty burn marks that still ached with pulsating pain but a scar on his pride that Yzak would never be able to forget, even now a large part of him still wandered how in the world he was so easily beaten by someone who was supposed to be inferior to him, he was a Coordinator and his opponent was a Natural so how could he have possibly lost? As this question continued went through his mind only one answer surfaced.

'That son of a bitch only got lucky but that won't be the case this time.' Yzak thought as he as gazed up at the Duel which had not only been repaired but ungraded with an assault shroud enhancing it's performance as well as adding to missile silo to its left shoulder and a railgun on top of its right as well as new plating making its phase shift armor significantly thicker.

'Just you wait Heero, I'm gonna pay you back ten fold for humiliation you put me through.' Yzak thought as he wore an almost deranged smile as he imagined Heero begging for forgiveness before Yzak sent him into the abyss.

Dearka could only stare at his friend as he showed major signs of mental instability and obsession hoping that he wouldn't fly off the deep end.

Any further worries or contemplations were interrupted by a voice speaking over the intercom system.

"Attention all hands were about to engage the enemy fleet orbiting the Earth all pilots are to report to their assigned Mobile suits and prepare to launch." a predatory smile etched its way on Yzak's face as he grabbed on to the cable connected to the Duel's cockpit which began hoisting him up.

'Time for round two Wing Zero.' The Zaft red thought before tearing the bandages from his face revealing the other half to have a darker shade on top of slight deformation.

XXXXX

"Rue make sure you don't fail in taking that new suit down if you're unable to capture it." demanded the voice Patrick Zala over a private channel that connected him to the Zaft commander Rau La Cruset who sat in his personal office on the Vessalious.

"Of course I'll be sure that the Wing Zero is removed from the pitcher." Rau assured the secretary of defense.

"You'd best do just that, it wouldn't be good for anyone if that suit isn't taken care of." Zala said cutting the link.

'It sounds like Zala is actually close to becoming desperate. He probably wants to use to defeat of Wing Zero to gain support from the council.' Rau thought as a smile formed on his face while he began leaving the office and heading to the hanger bay to launch in his CGUE.

'Still, it's like not I hadn't already planned on fighting Wing Zero, this Heero Yuy will definitely keep things interesting.'

XXXXX

"Sir you'll need our help with dealing with the stolen G weapons." Ramius pleaded to Halberton over a com channel.

"Captain Ramius your mission is to get the Strike and the Archangel to Alaska ASAP."

"But..."

"This isn't up for discussion we'll deal with the Zaft forces and G weapons the enemy has, you just focus on your mission." Halberton said before cutting the link.

"Dammit, Halberton has no idea what he's getting into."

It was then that Heero came onto the Bridge.

"Agreed he's underestimating the power of those stolen G weapons."

"Seeing the footage of what you did to them probably had something to do with that."

"It'd make sense." Heero admitted. it Wasn't hard to see where Ramius assessment of Halberton's poor judgment of the situation was coming from. Once Halberton saw the footage of how easily Heero beat the fake Gundams many of his officers who were also present for the viewing arrogantly started trying to insult the work put into the suits saying their construction was a waste of time. In other words, seeing the fake Gundams defeat by Heero's hands was causing Halbterton to become overconfident which would likely cost him and the fleet under his command dearly.

Heero began walking towards the entrance before Marrue called out to him.

"Where are you going?"

"To launch."

"The Admiral made it very clear no member of the Archangel's crew was to take part in this fight Yuy." Badgiruel stated.

'I'm not a member of the crew, besides the Archangel is Zaft's target, simply turning y our backs to them will simply give them the opportunity to shoot the ship down from behind. Also I have no obligation to follow your and in this case Halberton's orders."

"Well it's not like we'd be disobeying Halberton so I don't see a problem with you taking to the field." Mu admitted

"I intended to launch even if the case was otherwise." Heero said before leaving without another word.

"Well, we can at least rest assured that the Eighth fleet while having some help that'll even the odds." Mu said.

"True." Ramius admitted before turning to Mirriallia.

"Ensign Haw tell the Mechanics to be ready to open any hatch to the hanger bay the moment Yuy is ready to launch."

"Right."

XXXXX

"Sir that enemy has begun launching Mobile suits from their ship. The Stolen G weapons are amongst." one of the operators informed Halberton.

"Issue an order for the ships nearest to the enemy to launch their mobile armors and engage the enemy the rest are to form a defensive line and make sure the enemy doesn't get near the Archangel or the Strike. Our main objective is to ensure they reach Alaska safely." With that Halberton watched as the nearest ship began trading fire with Zaft forces.

XXXXX  
"Do these guys really think they can stop us?" Dearka asked as he used the Buster's gun launcher and energy rifle to shoot multiple mobile armors down one after another.

"Don't forget the EA still has the legged ship and the Strike." Nicol warned as he shot down a mobile armor before using the Blitz's shield to block a missile from another EA unit which he wasted no time in retaliating against his piercer lock.

"So what? The Strike pilot isn't even that good, he only got away from us before because of dumb luck." Dearka declared.

"Stay focused on the mission." Athrun demanded as he cut through a mobile armor unit with one of his arm mounted beam sabers before changing the Aegis into its mobile armor form and using its Scylla cannon to shootout the bridge of one of the EA's ships. "Our mission is to destroy the legged ship and capture the Strike and if possible the Wing Zero."

"But how are we suppose to take on Wing Zero after what happened the last time we faced it?" Nicole asked worriedly.

"I hate to say it but Nicol's got a point. The Strike and legged ship ain't really a problem we can take them down anytime but that other mobile suit is a completely different story." Dearka said.

The bluenette grunted in frustration. As reluctant as he was to admit it his teamates were right. Hell all things considered Athrun found the part of the mission of trying to somehow capture wing Zero to be pretty unreasonable and while he'd prefer to just shoot it down even that task would be a hell of a lot easier said than done to accomplish but unfortunately the orders came directly from his father so he wasn't particularly in any position to protest it.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Athrun told his teammate before switching the Aegis back into its mobile suit form and using its arm mount beam saber again to cut through an EA mobile armor that was bold enough to take a few pot shots at him as it was going by before pulling out his machine's rifle.

"I guess." Nicol replied whilst letting loose one of the Blitz's lancer darts into the deck of another drake class EA ship before Dearka decided to combine his rifles into the sniper rifle and let loose a long beam that torn through the bridge of the said drake class ship.

"Whatever when that mobile suit comes we'll all take him together, our chances are better that way." The Buster's pilot said before splitting the rifle back into its original two weapons and preceding to shoot down more stray mobile armors.

Stealing a glance in the Duel's direction Dearka was a bit frightened to see Yzak was using the Duel's beam sabers to cut through EA units like a madman not even bothering to dodge or block any enemy fire aim at him. Luckily the shots from the enemy units were either physical rounds or beams with outputs that were too low to do any significant damage to the Duel.

What really made scene disturbing was all the enraged screaming Yzak was doing over an open channel.

"Came out Wing Zero, the longer it takes to find you the more of your fellow Naturals I'm going to kill!" The Zaft red roared.

"Where are you hiding you fucking lowlife Natural?! I'm gonna pay you back tenfold for what you did to me!"

The Duel cut through another mobile armor before turning in the direction of the rest of the Eighth fleet and noticed that were all forming up defensively as if forming a perimeter. Upon having this realization Yzak smiled and took off in the direction of the rest of the fleet.

"If you think you can hide somewhere amongst those ships I'll shoot every one of them down to find you."

"Dammit Yzak you're getting too reckless." Athrun muttered in frustration more so to himself than the others.

"As impulsive as Joule is acting right now he has the right idea. We'll need to fight our way the rest of the EA fleet in order to find the legged ship." The voice of Rau la Cruset who was piloting a repaired CGUE said over a Zaft private channel.

"Commander? When did you launch?"

"Just a minute ago but that's currently irrelevant. Right now we need to focus on breaking through the rest of the EA forces before the legged ship manages to slip through our fingers."

XXXXXX

In the hanger bay of a Nazca class Zaft ship named the "Salvation" the Zaft red Pilot Roland Quinby sat in a new CGUE to replace the previous one that was damaged when he met Heero in the other world.

There were a few Guaizes on board but since it was decided they wouldn't be employed until Roland and those under his command were able to take center stage when it came to subduing Heero the newer mobile suits here all currently left unmanned.

"Are you ready for this?" The captain of the Salvation asked over the radio.

"Yes."

"Remember while the official mission is to take down the legged ship and capture the Strike along with Wing Zero if possible our personal mission is simply to help clear the way to them and let the La Cruset team engage them and fail so we can take the reigns of the mission for Keagan's goals."

"Understood." Roland replied even though he was already well aware of what the personnel mission was before loading his mobile suit on the catapult.

"Roland Quinby, CGUE launching."

As Roland took to the field the captain could only bring himself to sigh.

'This mission is too much of gamble in my opinion, while I can see why we're setting Zala up to humiliate himself in front of the rest of the Zaft council any plans Keagan may have pertaining to that Mobile suit that all but wiped out the team under Rau La Cruset's command are going to be in a real bind if by some off chance La Cruset's lackeys actually manage to capture or shoot it down.

Thomason Stone was a level headed man with a great sense of clarity when it came to numerous variable factors and the field of battle. It was also because of that said clarity that he decided to place his personal loyalties with Keegan Brown though not an openly as Roland since it'd likely make fellow officers wary of him and make it harder for him to move about as freely when it came to military matters. While he couldn't blame others for questioning whether the council member was truly trustworthy or not due to how little was openly known about him Thomason personally felt Keegan would be a better leader for the Plant's than Siegel or Zala who was planning on running for the position of chairman when the elections came up would be. The former may have had good intentions with simply wanting to bring the EA to the table for peace talks to ensure fair treatment of both Coordinators and Naturals alike what Siegel (At least in Tommison's eyes) failed to realize was that those with beliefs sympathizing with Blue Cosmos were in control of the EA and would simply back off only temporarily to ready themselves for round two with the Plants. Zala may have seemed less naive with wanting to force Natural into unconditional surrender which if handled currently could probably force EA and Naturals as a whole to back off and let the people of the Plants finally live in peace the problem lied just there, simply put Zala wasn't the right candidate to handle keeping the Naturals in check, he looked down on them far too much to the point that he underestimated them too much, and that was assuming he was only aiming for their unconditional surrender.

Keagan, on the other hand, acknowledged the reality that simply signing a treaty during a peace talk session wouldn't halt the desire of those on Earth who wished to eradicate all Coordinators from existence and also knew not to underestimate them at literally every turn due to personal hatred or arrogance. For that reason Thomason decided to follow Keagan down whatever path it might lead, if it was one where a peaceful future for Coordinators then it would go to show Thomason was right about Keagan and if not well he supposed that would simply mean that peace was simply something that was simply out of the grasp of humanity.

XXXXX

"Captain Heero Yuy is ready to launch Mechanics are opening the hatch now." Mirriallia exclaimed.

Ramius glanced at the personal monitor to her chair displaying a view of the hanger by confirming what she was just informed of before responding

"Right after Wing Zero launches we'll begin our descent to Alaska."

It was then that the bridge was hailed over the radio and a window showing Heero Yuy now wearing a black flight suit.

"I'm about to launch, I'll be sure to link up with you before making atmospheric entry."

"That is not necessary the eighth fleet has things under control you needn't launch at all." Natarle declared hoping to dissuade Heero.

"If you seriously believe that you might want to take another look at the battle."

The second in command was about to protest until Sai spoke up first.

"He's right! The stolen G weapons already tore their way through the engaging ships all Zaft forces are about to attack the rest of the Eighth fleet.

Ramius' eyes widened considerably as she saw Zaft forces come upon the defensive line and began picking the EA forces apart. While she knew things weren't going to go in a favorable direction for the eighth she didn't expect Zaft forces to tear their way through the EA forces this efficiently. One particular detail the Captain of the Archangel noticed was that it wasn't the G weapons alone but a squadron of CGUEs that were also inflicting rather high casualties amongst the EA forces.

'At this rate, we might have to go against Halberton's orders and have Mu and Kira both launch as well.'

"Captain the G weapons are punching straight through the defensive line and heading straight for us!"

"lieutenant La Flaga Ensign Yamato head to your machines we may need you to launch after all." Ramius said.

'Heero I really hope you can turn this around.'

XXXXX

"Heero Yuy, Wing Zero launching." Heero said as he engaged Wing Zero's thrusters and exited the Archangel.

Upon taking to space Heero saw the fake Gundams had indeed punched through leaving the rest of Zaft forces to deal with the Eighth fleet. Though one factor that had changed was that numerous mobile Armors were now chasing after the fake Gundams.

'Halberton must be trying to slow enemy team down.' Heero thought understanding the reasoning behind it but also being very aware of why the move was also a major mistake.

While it made sense for the Admiral to send a splinter squadron after the fake Gundams in hopes of stopping their advance and buying the Archangel the time it needed to descend to Alaska since the move would keep the Archangel and Strike from risk especially with everything the was riding on the latter's potential contributions to the war. The move was also a major mistake that could easily back fire since it meant stretching the EA's forces and considering on average they needed a five to one advantage in numbers in order to have a chance at winning even minor skirmishes stretching their forces was something that it was very preferable to avoid and in this case it could likely result and the rest of Zaft forces wiping out the eighth fleet that much faster and allowing more enemies aside from the fake Gundams to come after the Archangel before it made through the Earth's atmosphere.

Amongst the Fake Gundam squadron was a single CGUE with a violet beam saber in hand which Heero figured was probably piloted by Rau La Cruset.

XXXXX

'Are you ready for another round Wing Zero?' Rau thought before contacting the others over a private channel.

"I'll deal with Wing Zero the rest of you focus on taking down the legged ship."

"What? you're kidding right? This guy ain't exactly your typical Natural slouch." Dearka replied.

"I know he's not, while Wing Zero is now a priority target that doesn't mean we can just ignore the legged ship and Strike. As for the guy piloting that suit, let me worry about that."

"Are you fucking kidding me? The only reason I'm here is to take that Natural fuck down!" Yzak roared over the radio.

"You have your orders Joule and I expect you to carry them out."

"To hell with you!" Joule yelled before increasing his mobile suit's speed and making a beeline for the Wing Zero.

"Dammit Yzak we don't have time for this!" Athrun yelled.

"Forget it Athrun." Rau said.

"But..."

"Just focus on the legged ship with the Buster and Blitz."

"Yes sir."

'I guess I'll just have to make do with Joule getting involved, I'll reprimand him later if he isn't shot down by Wing Zero.'

"DIIEEEE WING ZERO!" The Duel's pilot roared over an open channel as his began firing wildly at Heero who easily dodged the shots before firing a small beam from his own rifle which the Duel barely avoid before firing a grenade at Wing Zero which Heero simlply swatted back at Yzak with his shield forcing the Duel to pull away to avoid the explosion before climbing to avoid a horzontal slash from Rau's beam saber before the Zaft commander began circling around him whilst Heero rotated his own machine to continually face the Zaft commander until he was on the opposite side of Wing Zero from Yzak likely trying to utilize a pincer attack with the Duel.

Pulling to the side Heero avoided a small number of shots from the Duel's rifle before spinning around in a 360 degree circle and firing his shoulder gatling guns when he reached the 180 degree point knocking the Duel off balance before completing the second half of the rotation in time to bring up his shield and block an overhead swing from Rau La Cruset who tried to charge him as he was turning and kicking his machine in its midsection pushing it away before firing his buster rifle at it which it barely dodged.

Soon after Heero dived to avoid another beam from the Duel only this time from the railgun mounted on its shoulder before it followed at up firing the missiles from the silo in its opposite shoulder only for Heero to shoot them all down with his vulcan guns whilst taking aim with his buster rifle and firing at the Duel which pulled to the side in time to avoid the blast at the cost of the shot grazing his shield and burning through it to the point that the defensive armament broke in half before turning and shouting his shoulder gatlings at Rau La Cruset who tried to rush him again forcing him to divert his path.

Yzak then took aim with his rifle and fired a few more shots only Wing Zero to easily dodge them before thowing its shield aside to grab its rifle with both hands and doing something neither of the two Zaft pilots could have anticipated.

It pulled its rifle apart and split it in half down the center separating it into two guns. Taking aim at both enemies Heero fired both gun simultaneously. Rau La Cruset was able to move from the shot aimed at his path in time but Yzak ended up being slower to react due to trying to take aim and fire his own rifle to completely avert damage and ended up having his machine's rifle arm along with the rail gun mounted on top of the said arm disintegrated.

Gritting his teeth with nearly enough force to crack them Yzak felt further rage build up inside of him. This wasn't supposed to be the way the rematch between him and Wing Zero went, Yzak was supposed to be winning, picking Wing Zero apart piece by piece and driving whilst driving its pilot further into fear and despair until they'd resort to crying out for mercy and pleading for him to spare their life. But that wasn't happening instead Wing Zero was making a complete fool out of the Zaft red making him look inferior, beneath him, hell he hadn't even been able to land a single blow all the while the Natural piece of shit he was fighting was taking him apart and further humiliating him. At this rate the fight was just going to end up being a replay of their last encounter.

No Yzak refused to let that happened, he had one of the best mobile suits ever created, he was a Zaft red elite, the best pilot in all of Zaft dammit and he WASN'T GOING TO BE DONE IN BY A FUCKING NATURAL.

"RRAAGGGGG I'm not losssssiiinng to yoouuuuu!" Yzak yelled as he pulled out one of his beam sabers with the Duel's remaining arm and was about to charge blindly at Wing Zero before he was suddenly sprayed with multiple bullets from behind.

Turning the Duel around Yzak was greeted with the sight of around forty to fifty mobile armor units heading towards him which only served to further infuriate him. "You Natural cunts wanna get in my way huh? Fine I'll end every one of you!"

With that Yzak flow off in the direction of the EA pilots determined to be the reaper that would end every one of them. Meanwhile Rau La Cruset simply smiled at the sight before turning his attention back to Wing Zero. "Now that my disobedient subordinate is out of the way we can enjoy another round without unwanted third wheels."

"Don't complain when I kill you." Heero replied as he aimed both guns at Rau La Cruset who simply continued to smile and reached behind his CGUE's back with its free arm and pulled out a beam rifle.

"Like wise."

XXXXX

In hanger bay of the Archangel Kira now wearing his flight suit loaded the Strike onto the catapult while Mu La Flaga did the same in the other leg of the ship the reason being that since three of the stolen G weapons decided to simply bypass Heero after the Duel and CGUE which Mu guess was being used by Rau La Cruset engaged him.

while everyone on the ship was frustrated by this as many of them were hoping to avoid confrontation with Zaft Kira was both Frustrated and glad.

Frustrated because it meant he had to face Athrun again and possibly kill him which was something that didn't particularly appeal to Kira in the least since Athrun was also his friend. however in the same regard, he was glad since it meant Athrun wouldn't go up against Heero only to be killed and from the way Heero was easily handling the Duel and CGUE Kira lacked any doubts that was exactly what would happen.

Kira's thought process was interrupted when one of the cockpit's inner alarms went off alerting him to an incoming attack from his left. Turning the Strike's main camera in the said direction and was greeted with the sight of the Blitz's piercer lock heading right for him.

Acting quickly Kira attempted to use the same counter method that Heero did during the previous clash with the G weapons and blocked the weapon with his shield however the Blitz managed to retracted the grappling claw before Kira could switch to his beam saber to cut the cable connecting it to the Blitz's arm and as a result Kira was left with a single option of trying to counter with his beam rifle firing directly at the Blitz which weaved at of the way of most of the shots blocking a small few with its shield before firing one of its lancer darts at Kira who quickly moved himself out of the projectiles before another inner alarm alerted him to another incoming attack from direction with little time to react forcing Kira to hastily bring the Strike's shield in front of him to block a stream of beam shot that came from the Aegis' rifle.

While Kira was occupied with the Blitz and Aegis Dearka climbed to a higher altitude and combined both of his guns into a sniper rifle taking aim at the Strike.

"Say goodnight nooby." Dearka said before the alarms inside his own cockpit alerted him to an attack heading for him. Acting swiftly he dodged a blast from the Mobius Zero which split up from the four barrels mounted to its sides.

"Shit not that loser again." Dearka groaned as he split the guns apart and switching their places in the back and front before bringing them back together to form the scattershot shotgun rifle.

Due to the scattershot shot having a wider range Mu La Flaga had difficult time avoiding the shots often only missing them by mere inches the only relief he found was when one of his machine's barrels fired of the Buster long enough to give Mu a shred of breathing room for to try firing at the Buster directly but that'd usually end with the Buster using a missile from one of its shoulder silos to force Mu to abort any direct attacks with the actual Mobius Zero.

Mu found himself becoming a bit inwardly frustrated, while the fact he was holding his one again alone of the stolen G weapons single handedly was one hell of a feet when the overwhelming majority of EA pilots could barely last beyond a minute against GINN which went to show just how prestigious Mu's skills were he'd have preferred to have already taken the Buster down and moved to assist Kira.

'If it were Heero he'd have already blasted this guy to hell.' Mu inwardly admitted. Even though he had found out about Heero's skill on the battlefield a while ago he still had to wonder how in the world could someone be that powerful and if their existed anyone else in the Gundam pilot's general league.

Regardless of what questions he may have harbored pertaining to the Gundam pilot Mu La Flaga would have to put them on hold for the time being while he continued to duel the Strike.

Kira meanwhile narrowly avoided being blown to bits by the Aegis now in its mobile armor form's Scylla cannon before firing a few shots in its general direction forcing Athrun to briefly fall back before he change the Aegis back into ms mode before igniting beam of his arm mounted beam sabers before closing on Kira who put his own rifle away to switch to his beam saber.

Kira locked blades with one of the Aegis blade while blocking the other one with his shield before Athrun attempted to use one of the foot mounted blades forcing Kira to pull back and it didn't help matters for the Strike's pilot when the Blitz let loose another lancer dart which the Strike was forced to block it with his shield only for the combination of the impact and explosion to push him further back nearly knocking his machine off balance in the process.

Kira nearly panicked when he saw the Blitz flying towards him with its own beam saber ignited and ready to cut the Strike in half through its torso. Miraculously Kira was saved when the Archangel fired its main cannon at the Blitz and forced it to abandon its attack giving Kira the tike he needed to recover.

Now firing multiple missiles at the Blitz it was plain to see the Archangel had the stealth mobile suit's attention meaning the only opponent Kira had to worry about now was the Aegis.

XXXXX

'It looks like the La Cruset team is failing just as we predicted.' Roland thought as his used his CGUE's heavy sword in place of the beam saber it was armed with for to sake of conserving the weapon in case he was forced to directly engage Wing Zero to cut a mobile armor half before shooting down three more down with shield mounted Vulcan gun in quick succession and following up with his heavy sword again to take another unit out.

glancing over at the now one armed Duel Gundam blindly chasing after any EA units that were unfortunate enough to end up in its sight while the pilot was screaming various lines about how superior he thought he was Roland couldn't tell whether to pity or simply laugh at him.

'With that reckless of an overconfident attitude of his I can't help but wonder how the hell someone like him ever become a Zaft red. The Duel is wasted on him.' Roland thought before glancing in the direction of Heero and Rau La Cruset.

'Well Rau is better than that pathetic team under his command but too bad for him he has a poor idea of who he's dealing with.' Roland thought since it was pretty apparent who was winning if the damage to the Zaft Commander's mobile suit was enough of a hint.

Looking at the rest of the Zaft forces dealing with the main body of the EA's eighth fleet Roland saw the bridge of the Melenoas was destroyed meaning the Admiral in charge of the Eighth fleet was dead.

'It should just be a matter of time before the enemy forces' command structure breaks down and after the it'll just be a matter of mopping them up.'

With assessments of the entire battlefield out of the way Roland turned his focus back to taking out the splinter squadron sent to stop the La cruset team from going after to the legged ship failing to notice the Duel had decided to make a beeline for the Wing Zero.

XXXXX

'DA-Dammit.' Rau La cruset inwardly cursed as he glared at Wing Zero which held its beam saber in one hand and its now reclaimed shield in the other.

The Zaft Commanders mobile suit was now missing its right arm and left leg at the knee joint and the CGUE was now dotting with multiple holes throughout its entire body mainly from the shoulder Gatling guns.

When Rau had been beaten by Wing Zero the first time he was well aware he had initially underestimated the machine and its pilot believing that since he had already seen Wing Zero weapons through the video where it defeated the team under his command he would have the upper hand at the time but no where near as wide of a margin as he was founding out now.

With how powerful the enigma known as Heero Yuy was proving to be Rau was beginning to suspect he'd need something far above even the GAT series in order to have a fighting chance.

Unfortunely it seemed that chance would never come as Wing Zero was about to rush him and likely stab him through the cockpit.

'Damn you. I can't die here...not without passing judgment on humanity for its sins!' Rau la Cruset thought as Wing Zero's thrusters engaged.

Much to the commander's relief and shock the arrogant and rage blinded Zaft red Yzak Joule decided that he had enough distractions from his goal of revenge and decided to get in Wing Zero's path locking beam sabers with it.

Rau could only smirk. 'I suppose I should thank you, Joule, for inadvertently sacrificing yourself and allowing me to fight another day.

With that the Zaft commander turned his machine back towards the Vessallious before stealing a brief glance at the Earth. 'It looks like we're getting close to the Earth Sphere's gravity well.'

The commander sighed briefly before beginning his withdraw back to the Vessallious.'I don't really care for the complaints Zala is going to have but in the end it can't be helped the mission was a failure and any action pertaining to Wing Zero is going to be left in Keegan's hands now.'

XXXXX

Violet and amber colored beam blades clashed repeatedly as Kira and Athrun continued to trade blows in close quarters combat.

Kira blocked a horizontal slash from the Aegis' right arm beam saber with his shield before Athrun followed up with an upwards swing from his left leg mounted saber causing Kira to pull back just enough to get out of the attacks range before closing back in and attempting to counter with his own beam saber only for Athrun to block it with his left arm mounted beam saber.

Trying to act quickly Athrun attempted to bring the other arm mounted blade around only for Kira to block it with his shield however Athrun anticipated this time and brought up his right leg mount beam saber.

By some off chance however Kira managed to react in time climbing to a higher height and above to Aegis before sending a kick right into the side of its head pushing the machine back a bit.

Believing he had found a potential opening to end the fight Kira brought his beam saber down in an overhead swing only for Athrun bring both of the Aegis' arm mounted beam sabers up in an x formation catching the Strike's between them.

Both pilots grunted upon feeling the impact of their respective machines' weapons crashing into each other as they tried to frantically figure out what they're next move would be in hopes of gaining the upper hand however neither had time as they both found their machines suddenly descending at a much faster pace.

Shaking off momentary panic and confusion though a good portion of the latter remained, after briefly noting that the Aegis flew off in some unknown direction Kira attempted to climb to a higher altitude only to find out that whatever was pulling his machine down was more powerful than his machines' thrusters.

"Dammit what's going on?!" Kira asked no one in particular as panic began taking hold of him until a beeping sound was heard alerting him that someone was trying to hail him over the radio.

Quickly answering it a window displaying Mirriallia's face appeared on the main monitor. "Kira you've been caught in the Earth's gravity well the captain is having the Archangel set a course to intercept you but you need to be ready to come on board the moment the docking bay doors open."

"Ri-Right. But what about Mu and Heero?"

"We've already let Mu La Flaga know he's on his way back after the Buster got caught in the gravity well and I'm going to tell Heero next."

"Al-Alright." Kira managed to say as he felt the cockpit of the Strike's temperature rapidly rise.

XXXXX

"WHY THE FUCK WON'T YOU DIIIIEEEE!?" Yzak roared as he attempted to horizontal swing only for Wing Zero to easily parry the blow before bringing its own weapon back around and tearing a gash in the Duel's chest armor before it could pull back.

Yzak screamed in blind rage before charging Wing Zero again whilst making an overhead swing which Heero had no problem parrying before bringing his shield up and bashing it into the Duel pushing it away in the process.

Heero had to admit the Duel's pilot had a great deal of persistence which was an admirable quality in its own way.

Yzak let out another scream and attempted another beeline for Heero who simply dived letting the Duel sail by harmlessly.

If only that said persistence came from someone who didn't place all their confidence in genes and military rank that quality would likely be driving them to do any great things on and off the battlefield alike, they'd likely become a true force for justice not to be reckoned with and maybe even someone who could point the cosmic Era in a better direction than the one it was currently headed down.

Sadly that wasn't the case with this pilot since the put way too much reliance in the genes and thought they were literally the best.

It was around this time Heero found himself being hailed over the radio and answered it to see Mirriallia.

"What is it?" The Gundam pilot asked.

"We're starting to enter the Earth's gravity well the Strike got caught in it earlier so we have to change course to get it."

"I'll be sure to link up with you before you make atmospheric reentry."

"Alright but please hurry."

"Roger that." Heero replied before cutting the link and turning his attention back to the Duel which was making and beeline for him and before extending leg intending to kick Wing Zero in the chest.

Heero simply raised and swung his shield at the Duel effectively deflecting the kick and pushing the Duel back in the same move before he attempted to cut the Duel in half horizontally only for Yzak to climb but not without losing both of the Duel's legs around the knee joints.

"NOOOOOO I WON'T BE BESTED BY AN INFERIORRRR NAAATRRUUALLL!" Yzak yelled out in a futile attempt to deny the reality of his situation.

Heero could only pity the Zaft red at this point.

From a third party perspective it was a given who the winner would be Heero had yet to receive even a single scratch whereas Yzak's machine had lost three limbs and a gash in its chest on top of the only remaining weapon that was still available being the beam saber in the hand of its only remaining limb and that was even accounting for its battery supply which had to be getting low by now.

Still in spite of this Yzak was still consumed with the desire for revenge and was readying himself to charge at Heero again before a shuttle suddenly dropped between him and the Duel.

Upon catching sight of the shuttle Heero managed to spot the girl who had given him the paper flower before but Heero had no time to ponder the coincidence as he still had to worry about the Duel which now had its beam saber raised for an overhead swing however the attack wouldn't be meant for Heero but rather the shuttle between him and the Duel.

Upon realizing what Yzak was about to do Heero's eyes narrowed as he remembered the girl that gave him the paper flower and the other he had met prior to becoming a Gundam pilot and the fate that befall her because of a mishap on his own part.

And that was something Heero had no intention of letting happen again. Opening up his shoulder Gatling guns Heero open fired on the Duel knocking it off balance allowing the shuttle to pass safely before closing the distance between himself and Yzak.

Originally Heero was aiming to simply drive Yzak into retreating but after he went as far as attacking civilians Heero was now going to end him.

Yzak found himself becoming fearful as Wing Zero closed in on him, its eyes seemingly glaring at him as it were a demon ready to tear its pray tried to bring his beam saber in front of him to protect himself but it Heero simply cut the wrist of the Duel's final limb leaving to fake Gundam essentially defenseless before swinging his own beam saber in the other direction cutting through the Duel's arm and midsection miraculously missing the cockpit in the process of slicing the suit in two horizontal halves.

Yzak could only watch in horror as his suit began falling through the atmosphere whilst Wing Zero changed into its jet mode and took off after the legged ship. While he was alive for the moment all the left of the Duel was its lower midsection/torso and two stumps where its legs used to be and to make matter MUCH worse there was now a gaping hole in the top of the cockpit exposing the Zaft red to the outside meaning he was exposed to the flames that were created from extreme heat during entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

All the Zaft red could do was scream out in agony as flames engulfed to his entire body and seared him alive.

"ZZZZEEEERRRROOOOO!"

XXXXX

Roland Quinby who had been watching the final parts of the clash between Wing Zero and the Duel could only scoff at Yzak's pure idiocy as the Zaft red burned up in the atmosphere screaming Wing Zero's name.

"You should have retreated when you had the chance, though your death will contribute in discrediting Zala as the best person to have Wing Zero dealt with." Roland said before being hailed on the radio by Thomason.

"Roland we're going to make atmospheric reentry so you to return to the Salvation."

"On my way, from the looks of it the EA ship is headed for Africa."

XXXXX

"Heero you need to get on board now!" Ramius exclaimed over the radio.

"Got it." Heero replied as he up behind the Archangel and entered it docking bay before the doors to it closed.

'It looks like we're in for a long detour.' Heero thought as he calculated where the Archangel was headed.

* * *

 **That's the end of this chapter, sorry for the longer wait I had to change a few scenes.**

 **Anyway it looks like the Shuttle was saved and yes Yzak is dead as Roland said Yzak should have retreated when he had the chance but pushed things to far. plus the fact he tried to take on Heero at all it was pretty much a given who was going to win I mean the gap I power is pretty damn massive I mean we're taking about an egotistical moran who overestimates himself was too much with a Mobile suit that while its supposed to be a Gundam actually fall somewhat below Gundam standards (If the difference shown between the Strike and Freedom when Kira obtains the latter isn't enough of a hint) going up against someone who's practically akin to a super solider, has skills FAAARRRRR beyond most other pilots if taking out Aries Mobile dolls with a Leo wasn't enough of a hint near instantly master a new Molibe suit like its nothing AKA the Mercurius and a Mobile suit the goes well passed your average Gundam standards. While Rau La Cruset is a lot more skilled the Yzak he still only has a CGUE at this point which could only get him so far, as good as he is in a Mobile suit fight he'd need to close the gap in specs a bit( Basically the Providence or something on its general level) to get Heero to become serious. Overall I hope you enjoyed the Heero vs Yzak And Rau La Cruset.**

 **I originally was going to put a brief scrimmish between Heero and Roland to show a bigger glimmer of Roland's skill but decided to wait until the actuall next fight between him and Heero which I promise you won't be dissopointed with this its, I'm pretty sure I've dropped enough hints through past chapters but if its not clear already Roland is a lot stronger than any member of the La Cruset team but the next clash between him and Heero is still a bit of a way's off.**

 **Next chapter preview: Zala faces quite a bit of political humiliation Due to the La Cruset team's miserable failure at capturing/shooting down Wing Zero, the Archangel arrives in Africa and Heero is met with a surprise I think you will all like.**

 **And just so we're clear Yes I am actually going to try pairing Kira up with Natarle, yes I know that sounds a bit crazy and I'll even admit Natarle isn't particularly one of my favorite charachters due to her near blind loyalty to the EA but unlike a certain redhaired cunt she actually actually helps out with battles and isn't secretly trying to get allies killed. under normal curcumstances I'd probably never considered this coupling since one would normally think it was impossible. But I also thought that of Heero X Murrue Ramias before reading a journey to a new battle field and was proven wrong so I know its atually possible to do a a pairing like this...though this is probably going to be a bit tricky.**

 **So as far as pairing go they're**

 **Athrun and Cagalli(who I though about switching with Meyrin)**

 **Dearka and Mirriallia**

 **Ramius and Mu La Flaga**

 **Kira and Natarle**

 **Heero and Lacus**

 **That's all for now.**


	6. Battle in desert

**So get this I recently just found out a thumb drive can actually burn out soooooooo yeah I kind of lost a lot of fanfiction chapters and have either write them up from scratch or copy them off the doc manager of my account while they're still there but the good news is chapter production is still on. also as of late I've been rewatching gundam seed to give myself a much needed memory refreshment so I can make more consistent with the Cannon storyline...well enough that it makes sense since I'm not gonna follow cannon detail per detail for obvious reasons but still.**

 **So as per the usual disclaimer: I don't own Gundam seed or Wing**

* * *

"You promised us that new suit would be captured or destroyed!" Exclaimed a council member to Zala who could only grunt in frustration.

"I'm well aware that things have gone astray but it is little more than a minor margin of error."

"I don't think this counts as minor. Maybe if the mission simply resulted in Wing Zero and the Strike's escape but it also resulted in the loss of one of them G weapons in our possession and the near death of one of Zaft's best commanders and pilots."

'I don't need you to remind me fool' Zala thought with concealed anger and annoyance. He was no happier about the destruction of the Duel or the near death of Rau La Cruset than anyone else though a part of him wished the Zaft commander actually did die so Zala could be ridded of Commander's incompetence but he didn't care to listen to the weak willed cowards he was working with wine and complain about it.

"If the G weapons Zaft acquired from Heliopolis aren't enough then how are we supposed to bring that Mobile suit down?!"

"Maybe we should have left it in Keegan's hands after all." One of the council members suddenly said much to Zala's chagrin.

"No we have no need to utilize any new type of units before they've been produced on a large enough scale to be used on the general battle field." The secretary of defense said in protest.

"What do you propose we do? We can't utilize a large force for the sake of one target since we're still fighting the EA on every front."

Zala grunted in frustration as reluctant as he was to admit it the other council member was right. While Zaft may have had a considerable technological advantage over the EA the enemy still had numbers and a lot more recourses so Zaft wasn't really in anymore of a position to be stretching their forces any way they pleased than the EA itself.

Keagan Brown was not someone that Zala trusted. Like many Zala questioned where Keagan's loyalties truly lied though unlike many other who wondered if he truly cared for Zaft Zala wondered if Keegan more for the moderates or radicals or rather if Keegan was someone who was with him or against him. Whichever scenario held true was something Zala could not determine for the life of him, that combined with the fact that Keagan was one of the biggest contributors to Zaft's cause was something that unnerved him more than a little. In simple terms Keegan was too much of a wildcard for Zala's liking.

If the scenario was the former than Zala would definitely make use of Keegan but if it was the latter then Zala would have to take steps to ensure Keegan wouldn't become an obstacle to his personal ambition.

"Fine you've made your point." Zala conceded before shooting a death glare at Keagan who met Zala's gaze with stoic and uncaring eyes.

"Brown since the mission of dealing with Wing Zero will now fall to you I don't think I need to remind you that failing and letting the newly developed GuIAZs be destroyed doesn't make for a good image." Zala shot.

"No more than the loss of the Duel." Keegan replied nonchalantly angering Zala before addressing the rest of the council.

"As we all have been made aware of from the footage shown to so far Wing Zero had capabilities easily surpassing the original GAT series discovered on Heliopolis. Where Wing Zero was built and by whom is currently unknown." Keegan said straight faced even if the second of what he said was a lie.

"Not only that but its pilot known as Heero Yuy is far too skilled to be taken down by any typical squadron or common aces such as the La Cruset team which is why a special forces squadron that has been undergoing training via VR to specifically fight Wing Zero has been put together to deal with this unprecedented threat."

"Are you referring to the group you proposed before?" Seigel asked.

"Correct even though it was decided to let Zala decide how to go about having Wing Zero brought down I had the squadron prepared just in case the worse type of scenario played out." Keegan replied causing Zala's eyes to narrow and Seigel to raise an eyebrow.

'With the way you say that, it sounds as though you expected the team sent to steal the GAT series to fail in fact you didn't even seem the least bit shock the first time they were defeated.'

"Will the weapons fair better than the G weapons?" Another council member asked.

"In terms of performance the GuAIZ is above of the CGUE and with enough time for mass production can be used as a new replacement for the GINN that along with that fact that it adobts the beam technology of the G weapons make it an excellent mobile suit but its overall prowess ultimately falls short of the GAT series however the specialize training the squadron that will be using it against Wing Zero will make up for the bridge in terms of specs."

"Very well." Siegel said before addressing the rest of the council. "Does anyone have anything to add?"

No one said anything in response most simply bearing anxious looks probably hoping the Keegan's plan would work. Zala had a scowl portraying barely contained anger, the fact that he had to concede to letting Keegan have his way was something that didn't bode well with Zala in the least.

"If no one has anything else to say, Keegan when can this squadron begin their pursuit of the EA ship and the Wing Zero?"

"Immediately as soon as I send word to them."

Seigel raised an eyebrow.

"Don't they have to prepare?"

"They've already prepared it's just a simple matter of following the EA ship to Earth."

XXXXX

The Earth Alliance Admiral Shoutherland had to admit he was quite surprised when he looked over the email he was recently sent pertaining to the unknown mobile suit now known as Wing Zero from a fellow sympathizer of Blue Cosmos stationed onboard the deceased Admiral Halberton's ship.

The shock only continued to accumulate as he watched a video attached to the email showing Wing Zero's first clash with the stolen G weapons that were now in Zaft's hands. What took place in the video was far beyond what anyone in the EA could've hoped for when Wing Zero didn't simply hold its own it downright mopped the floor all but destroying the suits outright.

After seeing the entire video the Admiral had found himself placing a lot hope in the enigmatic mobile suit known as Wing Zero with the belief it could be a major stepping stone in wiping out the monsters in space whose very existence tainted and made a mockery of the name of humanity.

That said hope however was grounded to dust as quickly as it arose when Southerland read the rest of the message informing the Pilot who according to the email was teen boy named Heero Yuy who not only returned Lacus Clyne to Zaft after bringing her to the Archangel to keep her out of the EA's hands but also refused to divulge any information pertaining to his machine save for the fact it was armed with a self detonation.

After reading over the entire message Southerland could only grunt in annoyance. The Pilot known as Heero Yuy held an endless amount of potential for the EA or more so to the point Blue Cosmos' cause but from what the Admiral read the Pilot didn't give two shits about any of the ideals Blue Cosmos stood for.

'If this brat doesn't want to help us preserve our beautiful pure blue world we'll just have to arrange for that suit to be taken while he's out in the field fighting. I doubt he'll have the self detonation armed will he's engaged in a battle.'

Shoutherland smiled in anticipation of the success of the plan he believed would come to fruition.

'Don't worry Heero Yuy, we'll put your suit to good use once you're out of the pitcher.

xxxxx

"This really isn't our day. To think we'd not only veer off course but end up all the way in Africa." Mu La flaga said offhandedly whilst scratching the back of his head.

"I'm well aware we're a long ways from Alaska but we had no choice there'd have been no point in heading there if we lost the Strike so please don't remind me Badgiruel is already doing enough of that."

"At this point she probably has an entire list of things you've done that went outside the military's book."

"I know already but for the time being we need to figure out what we're going to do."

"Well it's going to take a while to figure that one out since we need to somehow slip past enemy forces within the very territory they control at least with the cover of night we won't have to worry about them finding us for the time being."

"True but the cover in question will only last a few hours." Murrue replied.

"True with that being the case we should get some rest while we have the chance."

"You won't hear any objections from me." Ramius said before turning to Natarle.

"Badgiruel I'll leave the bridge in your care."

Natarle simply saluted the captain and took the Ramius' chair for the time being she was placed in charge as the captain and mobile armor pilot left.

'No matter what we have to get to Alaska or Admiral Halberton's death and the loss of the eighth fleet will be in vain.' Murrue thought as she headed to the Crew's quarters.

XXXXX

Atop a sandune around somewhat over a mile from the Archangel were two men somewhere and their thirties were observing the Earth forces ship via a pair of binoculars.

"So this's is supposed to be the new EA ship that was built on Heliopolis along with the GAT series Dakosta."

"Yeah according to the reports the vessel dubbed the Archangel has repeatedly eluded the teams charged with pursuing along with the only G weapon known as the Strike. what's more, the ship also appears to have a second Mobile suit on board called Wing Zero." Dakosta told the other man.

"Yeah I've read some of the reports on the machine, apparently no one has any idea where it came from and to top that off apparently it's giving those who went up against it hard time. At least according to what I've read and heard."

"Believe it or what you've heard about so far as an extreme understatement."

The other man raised an eyebrow but kept his gaze fixed through the lenses of the binoculars he was using to observe the Archangel. "Is it now?"

"If the latest reports about it are this suit are true. It didn't simply give our allies a run for their money it all but annihilated the team that took the other G weapon's aside from the Strike, nearly killed Rau La Crustet and destroyed the G weapon known as the Duel. It also looks like the Suit's overall performance surpasses the GAT series by quite the margin and to top that off it's pilot has shown skill that according to the report are beyond any ACE in Zaft comes close to having. Though the final part of the report was something Waltfield wasn't ready to pay too much mind to.

"Do they have any idea what this new Mobile suit is called or who the pilot is?"

"Wing Zero and it's pilot is apparently someone known as Heero Yuy."

The other man simply continually scrutinize the Archangel.

'Heero Yuy huh, this guy may be able to supposedly be one hell of a fighter in space but that's different from fighting on Earth especially here in the desert.'

"Commander Waltfield what do you want to do?"

"It should be pretty obvious at this point. We'll have to engage the Crew of that ship since they're a high priority target but for now we'll size them up and assess their abilities and if possible wipe them out with this one attack."

"I'll have our pilots ready to begin their assault with the BuCUEs."

"Alright but send the assault choppers out first and also order the Lesseps to engage the Archangel."

XXXXX

"Ensign Yamato we need to be sure the Strike is ready to sortie at a moment's notice. Things might have calmed down for the moment but we can't let our guard down while we're in enemy controlled territory." Natarle said over a radio channel connecting directly to the Strike.

"Roger, I'll make sure I'm ready whenever the enemy shows up." Kira announced as he continued running a system check making sure there weren't any abnormalities with the Strike mobile suit.

Memories of his last fight with Athrun surfaced in the back of his mind which didn't serve to create any sense of comfort. Quickly shoving the memory in the back of his mind Kira refocused on maintenance to the Strike and the reason he decided to stay onboard.

He wanted to protect his friends from danger that was his initial motivation for piloting the Strike to this point but now the number of people he wanted to keep safe had increased now that he more or less established personal bonds with some of the crew original crew members amongst which were Murrue, Mu La Flaga, and maybe even Natarle though he couldn't be completely sure but even so if there was even the slightest chance of going beyond acquaintances with her then a part of him wanted to take it for some unknown reason.

As such while he didn't really have a long term goal pertaining to the war beyond protecting those on the ship for the time being he at least had a clear conscious with diagnostics to the Strike especially since there were whispers amongst some of the Crew the Heero might eventually leave the ship. If the rumors in question were indeed true then Kira would need to grow strong enough to fight Zaft forces without Heero's help.

"Kira have you been here the whole time?" A feminine voice inquired slightly startling the teen pilot before he moved the monitor displaying diagnostics of the Strike's internal systems out of the way who it was.

"Flay what are you doing here?"

The daughter of the deceased vice foreign minister Gorge Allster simply smiled. "I simply wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"We haven't really talked since papa was killed."

"Ok but that's not something anyone can hold against you. Losing a parent can't possibly be easy to come to terms with."

"I know I was in shock at the time and even distraught. For a time I found myself simply blaming you and thinking it was because you were a Coordinator that you weren't fighting the enemy seriously."

"Oh I see." Kira responded somewhat hurt by Flay's confession of her grudge. She was one of the last people Kira wanted to hate him but in the end it couldn't be helped considering he failed to save her dad even when he was more or less Gorge Allester's best chance at survival, if anything it made sense that the girl he admired from the background to resent him.

"But that was before." Flay announcedout of the blue catching Kira off guard.

"Yo-you mean...?" Kira couldn't bring himself to finish before Flay stepped into the cockpit and embraced him.

"Yes I realized what happened wasn't actually your fault, you were just trying to protect everyone the best you could." Flay said before bring her face directly in front of Kira's and begin slowly leaning in.

Kira took immediate notice of this and contemplated the idea of letting Flay follow through with her intention. There seemed to be more than a few reasons to, for one Kira had harbored a romantic interest for the reddet during his stay on Heliopolis and since her father's death Flay's engagement with Sai was pretty much annulled though the latter seemed not to realized it, still he'd haft to be confronted with that truth sooner or later with or without Kira having a romantic relationship with Flay, overall there seemed to be nothing but endless benefit, Kira could have the girl of his dreams and have all the more reason to fight. From that particular perspective if seemed idiotic and illogical to refuse Flay's advance but...

"Ki-Kira?" Flay asked after Kira placed a hand on her shoulder in pushed her away before Flay could completely close the distance.

"I'm sorry Flay I'm happy you don't hate me but we shouldn't do this." Kira said causing Flay eyes to widen considerably more so than Kira would have expected.

"O-oh...sorry I don't what I was thinking. Just forget it happen ok?" Flay said before getting out of the Strike's cockpit and hastily left the hanger bay.

After Flay was out of sight Kira found himself questioning what drove him to make the decision he did. All things considered he should have accepted her advancement, he had a crush on Flay practically from the time he had first laid eyes on her so he should have practically jumped at the opportunity given to him and was more than a little sure that in the past he would have but now something about it felt wrong.

In fact now that he thought about it something felt odd with way Flay seemingly forgiven him that easily when the loss in question pertained to the only family she had at least to Kira's knowledge but more so than that something in his mind seemed to be telling him any relationship with the nature of the one she tried to start would have been an idiotic mistake he shouldn't make.

Kira could only wonder what exactly changed and when it happened.

XXXXX

Just outside the hanger Flay found herself completely dumbstruck and also infuriated. Gritting her teeth and clenching her fist tight enough that her knuckles turned white Flay growled in rage at the memory of her recent rejection.

She was pretty much the most beautiful woman on the ship (As far as she was concerned) plus had a body that was more than little appealing to boot, not only that but that lying Coordinator scum currently in the Strike's cockpit had a crush on her for the longest time even if he actually thought that he was being secretive about it.

Unbeknownst to him however Flay was well aware of his interest in her, she had attracted the attention of more than a few boys even before living on Heliopolis so she could tell when someone harbored any type of attraction to her. Back on Heliopolis Flay had heard a few whispers here and there about how Kira was supposedly a Coordinator which left her with no shortage of disgust.

It was bad enough that while living on Heliopolis she had to swallow down and endure being near the unnatural space vermin but to have one desire her was the absolute worst. Flay couldn't even remember how many days and nights she had spent inwardly hoping and wishing Blue Cosmos to come to the colony and kill him so she could be free of his nauseating gaze but now that her father was gone she needed to take advantage of it to make Kira pay for letting him die.

"You can play hard to get Kira but sooner or later I'll have you wrapped around my finger so you can pay me back what you owe with your life and those of your fellow Coordinators. Only then can I forgive you." Flay said walking off. 'And that backward thinking traitor is next.'

XXXXX

Suddenly the Alarms throughout the Archangel went off waking everyone on board the ship and alerting them to a potential attack. Heero simply opened his eyes and moved to the closet of his assigned room to grab his flight suit before heading out to sortie in Wing Zero.

Having done research beforehand Heero was already well aware that the Archangel hidden landed in Zaft controlled territory so it was only a matter of time before an attack came.

As he got into the hallway he heard various crew members complaining about the situation.

"Seriously is this really happening now of all times."

"Can't be helped we don't have control of when the enemy will attack."

"Still it would have been nice if they waited until the night was over."

Heero more or less ignored the idiotic complaints going around. It was obvious the attack didn't exactly come at the most convenient time especially with what the Archangel had gone through recently along with the Crew's current predicament but in any war the enemy never to waits to attack until it's convenient for the other side. In fact on that account the Crew members were pretty stupid to hope for such a thing since no one with a shred of common sense would even consider intentionally waiting to attack until the enemy of the opposing side was well rested and fully prepared for a fight especially in a war.

After a few more minutes of traversing the halls of the Archangel Heero made to the hanger bay just in time to see the Strike being equipped with the launcher pack and immediately knew Kira was setting himself up for a difficult fight considering the environment and the particular pack's general area of specialty.

'Not a good matchup but with the rate Kira's skill had been improving he should be able to make due even with the disadvantage he's unknowingly giving himself.'

Heero thought as the Strike launched and he entered his own machine. As Wing Zero systems powered up and a window displaying a worried Mirriallia appeared on Wing Zero's main monitor.

"Heero are you ready to launched yet?!" She asked frantically. Judging by her tone she was becoming increasingly fearful likely meaning the fight had already taken a bad direction.

"I'm heading to the leg of the ship right now."

"Ok please help Kira, he's in a really tight spot."

"Roger that." Heero replied before cutting the connection and engaging Wing Zero's thrusters.

"Heero Yuy, Wing Zero launching." With that Heero flew out of the Archangel's leg.

XXXXX

Just outside the Archangel Kira found himself being pelted by gunfire from the assault choppers and was having an extremely difficult time keeping the Strike upright.

Upon exiting the ship Kira immediately discovered that the launcher pack allowed the helicopters to use their mobility to evade his shots via limiting the Strike's and that the mobile suit was far from suited for desert terrain. Kira could somehow keep the Strike upright when he stayed in one place but every time he tried to walk or even took so much as a single step the Strike began sliding of the sand dunes causing it to lose its balance and fall over.

The following result was Kira being forced to repeatedly propel himself into the air in order to evade missile fire from the enemy units but it also made it nearly impossible to take proper aim which combined and the fact the launcher pack didn't specialize in mobility made trying to shoot down the enemy something of a nightmare.

Matters only continued to deteriorate when the assault choppers swung around to fire another barrage at Kira with managed to shoot down two of them before they were about to begin firing on him however the majority of were suddenly torn apart by a stream of bullets forcing the rest to scatter before Wing Zero landed in front of the Strike.

"Thanks He-wait how are you able to stand?!" Kira exclaimed upon realizing that Wing Zero was standing on the sand dunes without any problems.

"I already set my OS system to adapt to the Desert environment. Hurry up and do the same with the Strikes OS before you're killed."

"Ri-right." Kira said whilst Heero used his Vulcan guns to take out the rest of the Choppers with relative ease.

XXXXX

"Commander all the assault choppers have been wiped!" Decosta exclaimed.

"What? Just barely a full minute ago you told me the Strike was barely holding out even if it somehow turned the tables there's no way it could take out our units in such a short time!" Waltfield replied.

"That's just the thing it wasn't the Strike that did, it was the other mobile suit known as Wing Zero."

"Are you kidding me? Even if its a superior machine with a skilled pilot the guys we had piloting the assault choppers weren't just your basic green soldiers."

"I know it's hard to believe but they're all KIA."

"Send out the BuCUEs.

As Decosta informed the remaining Zaft pilots to man their mobile suits Waltfield looked through his binoculars to see what Decosta had reported was indeed true all that was left of the assault chopper were their smoldering remains.

"So this Heero Yuy actually possesses some skill on the battlefield on Earth, let's see how he fairs against the BuCUEs. Unlike those human like mobile suits BuCUEs specialize in traversing desert terrain."

XXXXX

"Kira, Heero five more units are headed your way." Mirriallia warned over the radio.

"Any idea what type they are?" Heero asked.

"No you and Kira need to be ready for anything."

Heero didn't bother with a reply and simply cut the link and focused and the battle glancing over at Kira who had finished adjusted the Strike's OS allowing the machine to get a far more stable foothold in the sand.

'He has potential but he needs to quickly learn not leap before he looks, his desire to protect his friends is a good cause for fighting but if he keeps jumping head first into danger as blindly as he's been since this attack started he's going to get shot down.' Heero thought referring to Kira's impulsiveness before the unknown units came into view revealing themselves to be black wolf like mobile suits armed with missile silos on their backs and dual beam sabers in their mouths.

"You might have the advantage in space but on land our BuCUEs are unmatched." Announced one of the more cocky Zaft pilots as the BuCUEs closed in.

Kira fired his Hyper Impulse cannon at the squadron causing them to immediately scatter easily avoiding the blast. "Dammit."

"If that's all you got this is gonna be pretty easy." The BuCUE pilot from before announced overconfidence lacing his voice as he decided to lunge for Wing Zero intending to simply tackle it to the ground and capturing it right then and there believing it to be an easy target only to receive the shock of his life as Heero merely responded be thrusting his shield tip first right into the incoming BuCUE's head not only shattering it but also impaling most of the BuCUE's body on the defensive armament and caving it inwards in the process which resulted in a rather painful death for the pilot as the cockpit of the destroyed BeCUE suddenly became far too compressed for a human to fit inside properly which in turn crushed the body of the pilot.

The other unit's only stared in shock at what had happened as Wing Zero swung its shield ridding it of the crushed in remains in the BuCUE's body which were sent in the distance before it attached its rifle to the shield and pulled out its beam saber.

Their provado and boastfulness gone now replaced with rage the other BuCUE units turned their attention completely to Wing Zero.

"You bastard, you're dead!" One of the other pilots yelled as they began strafing from side to side whilst fire a barrage of missiles at Wing Zero. Heero simply utilized his Vulcan guns to shoot the missiles long before they even came close to reaching him before using his beam saber to parry the blow from another BuCUE that tried to get the jump on him and use its own beam saber to cut Wing Zero in two.

Heero quickly retailed with shoulder Gatling guns with tore through the BuCUE using its twin saber leaving nothing but scraps of metal and a few but visible traces of blood indicating the pilot didn't fare any better than their machine.

The remaining CGUE that was originally using its missile silo ignited its own beam saber and blindly rushed at Wing Zero. "You son of a bitch you're gonna pay for killing my comrades!" The pilot yelled before leaping into the air aiming its weapon to decapitate Wing Zero only for Heero to duck under the attack swinging his beam saber overhead cutting the BeCUE down the center vertically.

Now done with the two Heero turned to see Kira in the process of taking on the other two machine.

XXXXX

Kira was in a rather tight spot with his two opponents. While Heero's advice about adjusting the Strike's OS helped him a great deal and on that account it was the biggest factor keeping him in the fight Kira was still having a difficult time. While he could now stand without worry of falling down and take proper aim the BuCUEs sheer agility on land made them difficult targets to hit even more so than the assault choppers.

Every time he fired the Hyper Impulse cannon at them they'd simply swerve out of the way and continuing returning fire with their railing guns. It didn't help matter when they'd occasionally make a beeline for him and ram into him with their machines whether they were trying to do actual damage or just toying with him for their personal amusement Kira didn't know but he was well aware of one thing and that was that he could not allow the fight continue dragging out like this less he'd run out of power and become a sitting duck.

When one of the BuCUEs charged at Kira again Kira simply took aim with the Missiles pods on Stike's left shoulder but refrained from immediately opting to wait for the right opportunity which came when the incoming BuCUE leaped into the air. In that instant Kira let loose one of the missiles which head to enemy unit head on destroy it outright before the remained unit fired off its railguns forces Kira to propel the Strike into the air only for the BuCUE to leap into the after it igniting it's twin saber in the process attempting the cut the Strike through its torso.

Kira responded buy bringing up the Strike knee and ramming into the BuCUEs head knocking it out of the air. The force of the blow pushed the BuCUE back which skidded even further away upon landing on the ground before sliding to the side to avoid a missile from the Strike other Silo before retaliating with its railguns which Kira descended to try and avoid but both blasts from the BuCUE graze the top of the Strike's chest before the said BuCUE ignited its own twin saber and rushed Kira.

"I hope you're ready to die after everything you dogs living on earth have done its time for all of you to pay!" the Zaft pilot declared.

Kira quickly took aim with the Hyper Impulse cannon and fired only for his opponent to simply pivot to the side avoiding the blast leaping into the air. Kira managed to propel the Strike to the side and avoid having it severed in half but unfortunately the side of the BuCUE's twin saber closest to the Strike still managed to tear into its side leaving a long gash in its armor.

The enemy unit circled around and once again set a course Straight for the Strike which Kira in response took aim with the Hyper Impulse canon again only to discover it wouldn't fire. "What? Why the hell won't this stupid thing fire." Kira asked before a beeping sound was heard Kira looked in the direction of the sound and discovered the reason his weapon stopped working much to his horror. The meter displaying the amount of power the Strike's battery had left was at two percent and dropping to zero.

Things only went from bad to worse when the enemy BeCUE decided at ram into the Strike head on knocking it over and sending it sliding all the way down the side of the sand dune it standing atop of before leaping from the said top down to where the Strike was laying whilst readying the railguns on its back to blast the Strike into oblivion.

Kira could only watch as the BuCUE continued falling towards his general location and the ends of its railguns grew brighter as they readied themselves to release the beams that would be the killing blow.

The teen pilot from the destroyed colony felt his stomach turn cold as time seemed to slow and he wondered if he was really going to die here and what would happen to everyone on the Archangel after he was gone. Much to his shock and relief however a yellow beam suddenly soared through the hitting the BuCUE and disintegrating its entire body.

Kira was confused at first until he looked at the top of the dune he was previously knocked from to see Wing Zero with its buster rifle out. Said confusion only returned when Heero suddenly turn and pointed his rifle in another direction and fired and much larger beam.

XXXXX

"Status report!" Ramius ordered.

"Our portside has taken a lot of damage its integrity has dropped to sixty seven percent!" Tolle said.

Ramius grunted in frustration. ever since the enemy ship began engaging the Archangel the situation only went downhill. The ship and crew were holding out for a little while holding its own but the enemy gradually wore the crew down via outlasting them by only using some of their weapons until they ran out then switching to other while the previous ones were reloaded then switching back and forth between sets repeatedly resupplying the ones not in use.

The result was the Archangel being forced to expend everything it had been loaded with over time as the battle dragged on. Unfortunately reloading its weapons in mid battle wasn't an option since the amount of mechanics were limited meaning refilling anything would simply take too much time (Plus the Archangel's crew were oblivious to what the crew of the Lesseps was doing and wondering how they were being outlasted especially since the Archangel was supposed to be one of the most powerful ships to date) and trying to do so would run the high risk of one of the mechanics being killed by a stray blast which wouldn't help with the current lack of crew members.

As the Archangel continued to deplete its arsenal opening in its defense started to manifest allowing an occasional projectile to hit the Archangel slowly witling down its integrity.

Natarle suggested having the mechanics ready one of the Scygraspers so Mu could take some of the pressure off but Ramius turned the idea down since it would likely result in his death without some form of back up.

She inquired as to what Kira and Heero were doing only to find out that after the assault choppers were destroyed a group of BeCUEs came to engage them.

Without any hope for help all the crew could do was go on the defensive and hold out as long as they could. Unfortunately now they hardly had anything left to defend with and Zaft forces had yet to let up their barrage.

"There's a heat source headed for us from our rear side!" One of the crew exclaimed causing Ramius and everyone's eyes to widen in shock until a yellow beam soared right by the Archangel and in the direction of the enemy ship.

Ramius was left wondering just where the blast came from but received another shock when a massive explosion could seen in the distance and Mirriallia spoke.

"The signal from the enemy ship I think it was destroyed."

"What but what could hav-" Ramius stopped in mid sentence when she recalled the other time she saw a yellow beam like the one that saved the Archangel. 'Heero I'm really starting to wonder where that machine of yours came from.'

XXXXX

"Co-Commander that Lesseps...its been destroyed."

"What?! you can't be serious! Are you telling me that mobile suit actually destroyed our ship?"

"Ye-yeah." Decosta replied

During his time on the battlefield Waltfield had seen more than his share of fierce of allies and (Abielt incredibly few considering they were Naturals) enemy pilots and also considered himself a higher tier pilot and had earned the reputation to prove it during his time in Africa hence the title desert tiger.

But for all his experience and skill even he was left awestruck. The Archangel may have held out even as it was burning through weaponry much longer than most other ships would have under those conditions and the Strike's pilot showed a glimmer of high potential when the adjusted their machine's OS for desert terrain causing Waltfield to suspect the pilot was a Coordinator but in the end both would have inevitably lost in the end but Wing Zero and its pilot not only decimated their opponents with disturbing ease proving they were not every bit the threat the council was making them out to be assuming the pilot known as Heero Yuy actually was fighting to his fullest abilities but single handedly turned the tide of the fight not only bailing his allies out but also wiping the vast majority of the attack force assembled to size up if not destroy the Archangel practically on his own.

Waltfield could only bring himself to sigh. 'Heero Yuy huh. Taking down this guy's going to be a major problem.' He thought seeing just how dangerous the suit and its pilot were. When the fighting initially started the Desert tiger had more or less dismissed the rumors as an over exaggeration since the Council had a tendency to panic over any problem pertaining to the war that came up but now that he saw Wing Zero in action he couldn't deny the suit and its pilot were indeed going to be a major threat to Zaft.

Still for all the grim anticipation Andrew Waltfield still had to wonder just who Heero Yuy was.

"Order the remainder of our forces to retreat we've already lost this round."

XXXXX

A fair distance away another group that was rebelling against Zaft rule over the region of Africa was left at something of a loss for words. Originally they were on their way to assist the EA forces after setting a land trap for the BuCUEs only for one of the mobile suits with the EA ship to not only wipe all of them save for one out but also destroy the Zaft forces ship and sent what little remained to retreat.

"It looks like the EA forces didn't need our help after all." The commander of the rebel forces known as Sahib Ashman.

"Who would've thought their units would be so powerful." Said one of the soldiers.

"Cagalli do you know which unit that is?" Sahib inquired to a blond girl who had been staring the unit that more or less wiped out the attacking Zaft forces almost single handedly in awe felt rage fill her mind upon seeing it.

Question from who built it, where it was constructed, who was the pilot, and what the capabilities of the mobile suit were all surfacing in her mind.

"No the other one that's laying at the bottom of the dune and lost its coloring is the Strike but that other one I have no idea." Cagalli answered as her scowl intensified.

"But I'm going to find out." Cagalli said before getting in one of the jeeps.

"Wait up I'll come with you we don't know why these guys are out here." said one of the rebels climbing into the passenger side.

"Relax Ahmed they probably fell through the atmosphere and went off course because of something Zaft did."

"Perhaps but I'd rather we don't get too comfortable with them just yet." Sahib said before getting into another jeep. "Still we won't learn anything until we meet them."

XXXXX

"Are we ready to head to the Earth?" A Zaft pilot who was one of fifteen including Roland Quinby onboard the Zaft ship known as the Salvation asked.

"We'll be making entry into the Atmosphere in a few minutes." Thomason answered before turning to address everyone present.

"The ship known as the Archangel's ended up veering off course and landing in North Africa so that's where we'll be heading since the territory is ultimately under our control so we won't have to worry about the enemy receiving any reinforcements and furthermore dealing with the ship itself and the Strike will be left in the hand of the Zaft Commander Andrew Waltfield so, so our squad primary and only objective is the capture of Wing Zero. However while this might make it seem like an easy mission you can't let your guard down once the operation starts." Thomason said before footage showing both Wing Zero's clash with the La Cruset the first time and its second one with the Commander Rau La Cruset and the Duel on two different windows was displayed behind him.

"As we've already long determined and can see here as proof Wing Zero might just be a single unit but it's extremely dangerous to the point that even a single mishap from any of you can possibly cause not only yourself but your entire squadron their lives."

"Yeah but we've received specialized training via repeated simulations based on the capabilities of shown by Wing Zero thus far so we're prepared for anything." Another pilot said before being followed up by a third.

"Plus we got Roland Quinby leading us. Whatever Wing Zero has up its sleeve we're ready to deal with."

'I hope so because if this mission fails things will become a lot more complicated in more ways than one.'

"Be that as it may we still cannot afford to underestimate this enemy as this is a high priority mission not simply for Zaft's benefit but for the future that needs to come about to end the hostilities between us and the Naturals."

Without replying all the pilots saluted Thomason and left the room save for Roland Quinby and one other who was around Roland's ago maybe a year older with slightly spiky black hair tied back in a short braid with red eyes as well as one of the few who like Roland himself was a Zaft red.

The Pilot in question was known as Peleg Otto who like Roland had lost everyone from his life before joining Zaft after being meeting Roland who convinced that he'd have a new purpose in life once he became a member. Since then he had become a highly skilled pilot in his own right though not on par with Roland himself as well as the latter's closest friend and supporter on top of a fellow follower of the Council member Keagan Brown.

While some would view the relationship between him and Roland as one of simply one sided benefit in the form of Roland taking advantage of the loss of Peleg's family to exploit his talents as a pilot for Keagan's cause Peleg himself didn't care, Roland wasn't the one to blame for his loss and had given him reason to go on living when he had none, in Peleg's eyes if being exploited was the price for a purpose in life then it was one he would gladly accept, Roland was there to extend to helping hand to him when he needed it most and as such he'd happily assist Roland in any way he could.

"Roland I don't think I need to remind you what's on the line here."

"I'm well aware, since Keagan has decided it's best not to make anymore trips to the otherworld for the time being all can do is put all our recourses into capturing Wing Zero and eliminating Heero Yuy."

"Then you know it's all the more reason to make sure this mission succeeds, if your unable to capture him any plans Keegan has for the future of mankind will be ground to a halt and from there things could become much more complicated for all of us."

"Don't worry I'll be ready to face Heero when the time comes."

"Good because with the unbelievable amount of skill he's been displaying since his initial debut. You're probably our only real chance."

For the first time Peleg spoke. "As Roland told you before there's need to worry and besides he's not going to be undertaking this mission alone."

"True but the other's are a little too laid back, they don't seem to get that the real thing won't go like the simulations and that's not even taking into account how difficult it alone was."

"It's true when we were training with the simulator it took quite a few tries before our squadron could do more than simply last a few minutes before being wiped out and that out of everyone Roland was the only one who made any really made any real progress during the one on one scenarios."

"Yes with him being able to score five stalemates and three wins whereas everyone else at best could only last just about three minutes aside from you."

"lasting four and a half minutes against Wing Zero which ended in a stalemate isn't that much of a difference."

"It is considering the unit in question and that it was alone."

"Maybe but it still stands that our real hope for bringing down Heero Yuy and capturing Wing lies with Roland."

"Maybe but I doubt even he can do it alone."

"I think you might be underestimating him."

"No." Roland interjected before continuing.

"Thomason is right Poleg. I can't single handedly bring down Heero as things stand now. I might possess a great deal of skill with a mobile suit but with everything that's happened so far it's safe to assume Heero's skill is above my own when everything's said and done." Roland said before walking over to his fellow Zaft Red and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"That's why I'll need the assistance of the rest of the squadron and even more so your assistance."

Peleg found himself caught with surprise before he was able to reply.

"But I'm nowhere near the level your on. At best I'm on par with the members of the La Cruset team."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short, keep in a mind a scored a draw against Wing Zero in the simulation. it might not be the same as a victory in an actual fight but its far more than those weak pilots who can't even bring down the Strike or Archangel could ever hope to aspire to so don't say you're the same as those piss ant excuses for aces."

"If that's how you feel then I'll be giving you my full support every step of the way during this mission no matter what happens."

"I'll be counting on you."

It was then the intercom came on and a voice belonging to one of the officers on board spoke.

"Captain Thomason Stone please come to the bridge we're about to begin entry through the Earth's atmosphere."

"On my way." Thomason said as he began heading to the bridge. 'Roland you have the support of me, Peleg, and the rest of the Squadron, as well as the entirety of this ship's so you should understand we're essentially putting all our cards on the table so we cannot afford to fail here.'

XXXXX

"Heero Kira could you stay where are our we have an unknown party approaching the ship. Ramius, Mu La Flaga and Badgirue are going out to meet them."

"Roger that." Was all Heero said before holding a position in front the entrance to the hanger bay.

"Ri-right Kira who's machine was only running on reserve power at this point said before also holding position as a group of people who didn't look like they were part of Zaft in jeeps came into view.

Kira tensed up even further upon seeing them, they may not have been with Zaft but they were armed which wasn't a source comfort, while odds were largely in the Crew's favor in the scenario of a fight since they still had the Strike (Even if its battery was currently dry) and unofficially Wing Zero Kira still didn't have any desire to take life fighting those assault choppers and the one CGUE he managed to take out himself was bad enough so he really wanted to avoid anymore bloodshed for the day if at all possible.

Heero just stared stoically at the scene nearly uncaring since it had nothing to do with his personal mission of finding and eliminating Roland Quinby and Keegan. Still he kept his guard up none the less, the group in question obviously wasn't Zaft but that didn't translate to them automatically being allies. Regardless Heero wasn't going to simply jump the gun and wipe them out since they hadn't proven to be enemies as of just yet odds were they wanted something from the crew which was more than likely help with getting rid of Zaft since they were the only possible enemy these people could have. Still if the tried to attack the Archangel and the people on board which Heero had promised to protect in exchange for being allowed to stay with them for the time being the approaching group would be wiped out in less than a minute.

At the entrance of the Archangel used by the Crew Ramius, Mu La Flaga, and Natarle all exited the ship and walked out to meet the unknown group that had come to a stop a couple meters from the ship and got out of the vehicles though all of them still had weapons on hand.

"So which one of you is in charge of this ship?" A large man with thick brown beard demanded.

"I am. I'd also like to know who you and your group are."

"I am Sihab Ashman leader of the desert dawn."

"Marrue Ramius captain of Archangel and this is my second in command Natarle Badgiruel, and Mu La Flaga."

Upon hearing this Sihab turned to the mobile armor.

"Hmm I never thought I'd have the opportunity to meet the Hawk of Endymion."

"Nice to know my reputation precedes me even here, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we're kind of wondering why your here, you must want something if you came out here to meet us."

"Well you're not necessarily wrong we have a certain proposition but first I'd prefer if you'd have your men lower their weapons and the pilots in those machines to come out I'm not exactly keen on having guns pointed at me."

Ramius tensed slightly but replied. "I can have the pilot of Strike come out but the other pilot isn't an unofficial member of our crew and as such he doesn't follow our orders."

Sihab raised an eyebrow and a blond girl who was the only female member of the Dessert dawn greeting the crew's eyes widened considerably and was about to demand an explanation but Sahib beat her to the punch.

"Then why are they piloting that machine, it doesn't exactly come off as productive if you give one of your greatest weapons to someone who's not under your thumb."

"That's just the thing, that machine is not really ours."

"But didn't you guys build it?"

"Our side was responsible for the construction of the Strike as well as four other suits on the destroyed colony of Heliopolis but the other one well...we're not sure where or even who made it. the pilot simply showed up out of the blue and offered to fight with us with that mobile suit while he stayed on the ship for the time being."

"You know that sounds like a tall tale right?"

"Yes I'm well aware but that's the truth."

"You never thought to ask the pilot for more information?"

"He refuses to divulge anything pertaining to his machine."

"I see. still that doesn't change the fact that I'm not delighted at the notion of having a weapon pointed at me."

"I'll see if I can persuade him."

"Kira come out of the Strike." Ramius ordered before turning to the Wing Zero.

"Heero we really don't need another fight after the one we been though so if possible we'd like you to comply with Sahib's request."

"Roger that." Heero said which Ramius breathed a sigh of relief to and the members of the dessert dawn watched him expectantly waiting for them him to come out of Wing Zero but were taken by surprise what Heero simply turned around and began walking Wing Zero to the Archangel's hanger bay.

"HE-Hey what are you doing?!" Demanded the blond girl.

"Cagalli calm down." Said Sihab only to be ignored as Cagalli attempted to follow after Wing Zero.

"Where the hell are you going?" Cagalli demanded only to be ignored as Wing Zero simply continued into the hanger of the Archangel.

As Heero lined Wing Zero parallel to the catwalk and powered down his machine before arming the self detonation device and exited the mobile suit he began to head back to his room only for a voice that was quickly growing annoying.

"Get back here! Who are you?!" Roared Cagalli as she entered the hanger glaring daggers at Heero who only spared a glance showing an extremely small amount of interest in her.

"Heero Yuy." He answered as he came down to the first floor and preceded to continue to his room.

"What is that machine, who made it and where and what are that thing's capabilities?" Cagalli demanded running to catch up to Heero until she was just behind.

"It's the Wing Zero and anything beyond that is none of your business."

"Like hell it isn't, you managed to wipe out most of the Zaft attack force like it nothing on your own, even the Strike doesn't have anywhere near that power plus it was never made on Heliopolis so where did it come from?" Cagalli demanded venom lacing her voice though Heero didn't care in the least.

"A place I've no obligation to tell a brat like you of."

Cagalli felt her rage spike and reach its pinnacle as she reared her fist back and let it fly toward the back of Heero's head only for the Gundam to cock his head to the side dodging the punch with almost comical ease before grabbing a hold of Cagalli's wrist and preceding to throw her over his shoulder watching her land flat on her back before continuing to his room.

Cagalli sat up glaring at Heero's retreating back and readied herself to take off after him again before a hand took a firm hold of her shoulder stopping her in her tracks and causing her to turn see Kira.

"Please just let him go."

Cagalli swatted Kira's hand away and stood up. "Let him go? Some random guy just shows up with a mobile suit that looks too much like the G weapons, wipes the floor with Zaft forces like their a bunch a new recruits not even fresh out of basic training and refuses to say anything on the matter besides his and that machine's name and you seriously expect me to let him go?!"

"He's not gonna tell you anything, he won't even tell us anything."

"Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me you let some random guy you know nothing about on the Archangel without finding anything about him? What sense does that make?!"

"We were in a bad spot since Heliopolis, Zaft kept chasing after us since we got off of Heliopolis so we needed whatever help we could get."

"Speaking of Heliopolis why the hell are you of all people the pilot of the Strike?!"

"A lot has happened and I was forced to pilot the Strike in order to protect my friends."

Cagalli was about to press the matter further before another voice cut her off

"That's enough Cagalli get back out here so we can continue the discussion the EA." Sahib who was now standing just outside the hanger with Kisaka said.

"But that other pilot still hasn't told us anything about his machine!"

"It doesn't matter. How that machine works or where it came from has nothing to do with us, as long as he isn't pointing the weapons of that thing at us I'm satisfied with that for the time being and I also couldn't care less about the origins of his machine."

Cagalli sighed in defeat and headed back outside with Kira.

XXXXX

"So we're heading down to the Earth?" Nicol asked.

"Yeah we still gotta bring down the legged ship." Athrun answered.

"But isn't that being left in the hands of that special squadron Keegan had put together?"

"No their job is to handle Wing Zero we're to assist commander Andrew Waltfield in bringing down the legged ship and the Strike."

Dearka scowled at this. "I don't have a single qualm with taking out the Strike but I really want another shot at Wing Zero."

"But we can't win against that guy, he killed Yzak and almost killed our Commander ."

"Yeah but I still want to make him pay for what he did to Yzak."

"There's nothing we can do now. We simply have to focus on our own mission and hope that special forces squad can take down Wing Zero."

"That group that Keagan guy put together? I doubt they have anything as good as our machines."

"Dearka in case you forgot one of our machines was blasted and cut to scrap before what remained was left to burn up in the atmosphere. If we go throwing ourselves blindly at Wing Zero our machines will end up meeting similar if not the same fates." Athrun admitted albeit reluctantly.

Dearka sighed in frustration before conceding defeat. "I know it just I'm a but pissed because of what that guy did to Yzak, he was my best friend."

Athrun couldn't blame Dearka for having a grudge against Wing Zero, while Yzak was hotheaded, impulsive and arrogant who was still a fellow Zaft member and a friend even if certain parts of his attitude left much to be desired.

Still while Athrun would say it out loud since it would only enrage Dearka and make him sound insensitive but he also knew that happened to Yzak was his own fault, had Yzak simply followed commander Rau La Cruset's orders and just focused on taking out the EA's fleet he would have still been alive, if he had simply retreated he had would still been alive. But Yzak being blinded by his own ego and desire for revenge for the humiliation he suffered from the team's first encounter which was also his own fault pushed things too far and dug his own grave.

Regardless of how the tragedy came to be Athrun and his team still had their mission to worry about. 'Kira if you come to your senses soon I'm gonna have to shoot you down.'

XXXXX

"I understand that Heero is more or less something of a mercenary but still I need to know if we can count on his help, no offense to you or your crew but I think it's obvious to everyone that he's our best chance at driving out Zaft forces." Said Sahib who had now moved the meeting to an underground base used by the Dessert Dawn and since then went on to discuss how the Archangel and the Dessert Dawn would go about dealing with the enemy forces so the locals could have self rule and the crew could leave Zaft controlled space and continue on to their original destination in Alaska.

After everything was decided the discussion had more or less turned to Heero and more so the point if he'd take part in the battles to come.

"Well he's been assisting our crew with fighting off Zaft forces up until now so I'm more than a little certain he'll assist us here and by extension your group." Ramius answered though she felt a bit chagrined by Sahib's assessment of Heero over the entirety of the Archangel's crew she couldn't really protest considering Heero's contributions in the past and the fact that the majority of the work in driving off the previous attack was done by him.

"Fair enough. With his help, we'll have a real chance at defeating the Desert Tiger."

"Are you talking about the famous Zaft commander Andrew Waltfield?" Mu La Flaga asked.

"The one and only...unfortunately."

"I heard he's one hell of pilot and Commander to boot."

"He's certainly proved quite the formidable adversary. We've fought him to the best of our abilities. But even uses gorilla tactics we've made little progress in fact we've simply been fighting a losing battle."

"Well Waltfield doesn't have the reputation and title he does for nothing."

"There's no denying that but with the pilot calling himself Heero Yuy's strength we have a real chance at winning against the enemy, of course we'll be counting on your crew's help as well and can help resupply your weaponry and other resources as well."

"Thank you. If that's all we'll be heading back to our ship."

"Wait." Cagalli called out getting the everyone's attention.

"Who exactly is Heero and where did he get that machine?"

"We don't know. He refuses to say anything on the subject."

"You can't be serious, I thought Kira was just blowing smoke when he told me that guy was being tight lipped about his machine."

"Nope all we know is that its even more fearsome the G weapons we had built. He practically annihilated the Zaft team that stole the other four G weapons alone and even destroyed the Duel without our help."

"What are you kidding me? Taking on the attack force here was one thing but wiping the floor with all the stolen G weapons without any help is downright impossible even for him."

"Yeah that's what a lot of us off thought until the first time we saw him in action, we still got the recording to prove it."

"Then you won't mind showing it to me will you?"

"Not at all."

XXXXX

Typing away on a personal PC Heero had brought with for keeping and looking over records of events that happened during missions when he wasn't in Wing Zero's cockpit Heero put in the newest data which he attained on the BuCUEs when he scanned them with Wing Zero's search eye.

He had to give Zaft credit they had a pretty good variety of different mobile suits for any purpose. Still many of them lacked beam weaponry save for the BeCUE's he just encountered so it was a safe bet that Zaft forces were working on mass production units that adopted the Beam technology of the fake Gundams.

'At this rate the gap in technology is going to widen to the point that the Earth Alliance will be forced to back down unless they can produce Mobile suit units of their own soon.'

If the Strike was successfully delivered to Alaska the EA will be able to even out the playing field but if not Zaft's advantage would more or less secure them the win so long as the EA didn't manage so somehow manufacture mobile suits without the Strike. That explained why Zaft forces were so intent on capturing and destroying the Strike and by extension Wing Zero since they think Heero was loyal to the Earth forces and planning on handing the Gundam's data to them.

In the end all that was irrelevant to Heero personally since his personal mission was simply to hunt and eliminate Roland, Keegan, and anyone else who know of and intended to use to the existence of his own world to their ends. While Heero may have initially told Ramius he wanted to see where the war would lead that truth of the matter was that it simply had nothing to do with him.

Still he had no real lead on where Roland was. If he was out in the field of the war then Heero's best chance at finding him was to draw him out via fighting Zaft forces and doing enough damage that Roland would eventually be forced to face him.

Keagan's general location was almost a given considering his political position. Still while Heero needed to eventually take out the council member also he couldn't simply head to the Plants with Wing Zero guns blazing for a few obvious reasons. Needless to say he'd have to slip in unnoticed and assassinate Keagan covertly but that could wait until he took out the more immediate threat. By some off chance Roland was also in the Plant's then Heero would simply have to use the same measures for him as he would with Keagan.

That left the question of how much longer he intended to stay with the Archangel. Sticking with them all the way until they got to Alaska was out of the question hands down since the higher ups would more the likely jump at the chance to seize Wing Zero or rather try and force Heero to detonate it remotely, Wing Zero was a precious machine one that Heero questioned if he'd ever be to truly part from of his own free will but he'd see it destroyed well before it fell into the hands of the EA considering their agenda was pretty much the absolute genocide of the opposing side even if it wasn't all that obvious to others.

At the very least he'd try to wait for Kira to grew into an adequate enough pilot that he'd be able to protect his friends using his own power without the need for luck to play the biggest factor in the success of it, to that end Heero would likely have to cut back on his part in the fighting to let Kira take on stronger opponents aside from the Fake Gundams so he could get more much needed experience under his belt. Beyond that all Heero could do was assist the Dessert Dawn with evicting the Zaft forces occupying the region with the Archangel for the moment.

XXXXX

"And you're really ok with this?" Andrew Waltfield asked over a long distance radio channel connecting him directly with the chairmen of the Plants.

"If I'm being completely honest I'm actually uneasy about this since she just narrowly avoided but she was persistent in saying she wanted to see what was going on with the world with her own eyes."

"There's nothing wrong with that but are you sure you want her to come here of all places? not only are we having to deal with the locals trying to go against us but the EA's new ship is also here along with the Strike and that other suit known as the Wing Zero."

"I can't speak for the ship or Strike but I can assure Wing Zero's pilot would never hurt her."

"If you say so. When will she be arriving?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Got it I'll be there to meet with her when she arrives." Andrew said before cutting the link.

"Great. now that the unexpected visiting arrangement is out of the way I just need the report confirming whether or not the civilians are really supporting the rebels or not."

Immediately after he finished that sentence a Zaft soldier entered the Commander's office. "Sir I have the report you asked for."

'Speak of the devil.' Andrew thought before replying to the officer. "Go on."

"We've confirmed that a nearby town is indeed harboring weapon supplies for the rebel forces." Zaft soldier informed Andrew.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, our scouts have spotted the people moving the supplies to and from various caves throughout the town itself."

Dekosta who had been silent turned to Andrew. "So what do want to do Commander?

Andrew sighed in frustration. "It's not exactly my style to target places where civilians are staying but since their assisting the rebels we can't exactly ignore them. At the very least what they're doing needs to be put to a stop so they don't exactly have the right to complain about what happens next."

"I take that this means the town's now an official target?"

"Pretty much but I'd rather not shed blood needlessly so let's make sure the town's the only thing destroyed."

"Understood."

XXXXX

"Yo-you've gotta be kidding me. How the hell is one guy able to do all this?!" Cagalli asked as she along with Mu and Kisaka looked of the recordings of the fight to save the escort unit that the deceased vice foreign minister Gorge Allster was with.

Beyond her previous question Cagalli was all but at a complete loss for words. She may have been observant enough to realize that Wing Zero was on the same level as the G weapons and to be aware that Heero hasn't your run of the mill pilot when he wiped out most the assault chopper BuCUEs and even the Zaft ship that was outlasting the Archangel but the idea of him being able to single handedly took on the four stolen G weapons was someone that should have been inconceivably impossible that G weapon built on Heliopolis was on a whole other level from any GINN or CGUE yet the video the blond teen was watching showed otherwise and if that wasn't enough Heero also managed to destroy the Duel in another battle according to Mu La Flaga, even though there wasn't really a video of it she no longer doubted it after seeing the video before her.

Back when she first saw Wing Zero in action earlier that day she wondered how it was able to wipe out the Zaft forces as easily as it did but after finding out that Mu's claim of Wing Zero fighting off the G weapons alone was indeed true there was no longer any kind of wonder as to how Heero beat those BuCUE's as easily as he did at all.

But still Cagalli couldn't help but puzzle over just how there was such a wide gap between Heero and pilots of the stolen G weapons along with Kira.

"Mu La Flaga please respond!" Murrue's voice sounded on the ship's intercom.

"I'm here, what is it? you sound worried."

"Zaft forces attacked a town nearby we need you to head out in one of the skygraspers and assess the damage." Murrue answered causing Cagalli's eyes to widen considerably before she replied to Ramius.

"Are you serious!?" The blond teen exclaimed unable to believe what she just heard.

The intercom was silent for a few moments Ramius replied. "Yes, that's why we need Mu La Flaga to head out and see if there are any survivors."

"Alright, I'll head out ASAP." Mu said before heading to the hanger bay while Cagalli headed for the entrance of the ship with Kisaka following close behind.

'Please let this be a lie!' Cagalli thought as she dashed through the halls of the ship. She knew Zaft forces didn't hesitate to shoot those who fought against them but the people of the nearby town were just woman, children, and elderly folk, they weren't with Zaft but they weren't fighting them either so there wasn't any reason for them to be dragged into it.

Cagalli soon found herself outside the ship again were the members of the Dessert Dawn were gathering in the jeeps furthering Cagalli's fear the townspeople's lives.

As soon as she made outside she was greeted by Ahmed."Cagalli have you already heard about the town?"

"Yeah. Please tell me this is some kind of joke."

"It's not." Ahmed said clenching his fist in anger.

"We're heading there now to see if there's anything left."

XXXXX

"Heero I know this isn't an actual battle but I'd like for you to head over out as well just in case Zaft forces are still present." Ramius said over a channel connecting with Heero's room.

"Fair enough I was planning on heading out anyway." Heero replied.

"Thank you." Ramius replied before cutting the link whilst Heero made his way to Wing Zero not even bothering to get his flight suit since he was on earth and doubted Zaft would be lingering around the area of the town.

After heading through a few halls and into the hanger bay where he entered Wing Zero Heero immediately launched and changed Wing Zero onto its neo bird mode.

it took only mere minutes for him to reach the town's location and saw it was entirely destroyed but was also confronted with another sight that even he couldn't have anticipated.

The inhabitants of the town were alive and in unusually high numbers which was a first even for the Gundam pilot. Usually when a military faction attacks a town the tended not to bother showing civilians any type of mercy, if anything they'd usually round them up to take prisoner or slaughter them outright.

To see many survivors was a really rare sight. Heero could only wonder if someone stepped in to protect them or if whoever was in charge of the Zaft forces occupying the region decided not to go as far as committing one the most common war crimes throughout history.

Heero guessed it had to be the latter of the two considering that unless the EA mustered enough forces numbering well into the hundreds if not thousands which was impossible since they'd have to fight their way all to where to the town was what with the town being deep within Zaft controlled territory the only thing within the entirety of the EA's forces that could have had a chance at doing anything was the Archangel and Strike.

Another sight that Heero noticed was the Desert Dawn members who had met with Archangel's crew were about to meet up with the survivors and other members of their group.

deciding to Contact the Archangel Heero immediately connecting to Ramius through a private channel. "Ramius here. what is it Heero, have you made it to the town's location?"

"Yeah, I've confirmed the destruction of it however from the looks of it those who were living there managed to get out safely."

There was a pause of silence likely due to Ramius being taken by surprise by the latter part of Heero report before she replied.

"Understood, we'll be there ASAP and help those people in any way we can."

"Roger." Heero said before ceasing contact and began descending to land.

Upon touching down Heero exited Wing Zero and headed over to where the Freedom fighters and met up with the survivors as Mu himself began landing.

"What are we supposed to do now? we have no home and nowhere else we can go." one of the women said.

"Damn that bastard, the Desert Tiger has got no sense of honor!" Yelled.

'Had that been the case they'd have left no one alive.' Heero thought.

"We can't do anything rash, for now stay with your wives and children." Sahib declared much to the chagrin of most of his subordinates.

"Are you kidding me, you seriously expect all of us to sit here and wallow in self pity?! we should be making the dessert tiger pay for what he's done!" Retorted one of the rebels.

"Hey this isn't as bad as you all think. Your homes may have been destroyed but you're all still alive to see another day." Mu said drawing a lot of glares from the rebel.

"And what the hell does that matter? We have no homes food or anything to survive on! Tell me how are we supposed to continue to go on living when we're eventually gonna starve to death!?"

"Well..." Mu was left at a loss for words unsure of how to reply to the particular question and it didn't help matters when a high number of the woman present were glaring at him.

"Jerk." Cagalli spat before walking off.

Heero turned to see the Archangel just arriving at the scene. 'It probably won't be much but the Crew should able to ease the locals burden somewhat.'

A few minutes after the Archangel landed again Ramius, Natarle and a few other officers all came out and began setting up makeshift medical stations and the like to treat any injuries the locals may have suffered during the attack while Ramius went over to Sahib."

"How bad is the situation?" The captain inquired.

"According to the elders the Dessert Tiger decided to give the people a warning and time to evacuate." Sahib answered shocking the Archangel's captain.

"Not that it matters, without no home and nowhere to go we may all very well die of starvation at this point."

"We'll do all we can to help out."

"Thank you. We'll take whatever we can get."

XXXXX

later that day the Crew were helping any way the could mostly treating injuries and distributing food rations wherever they could though it was proving to be quite an ordeal considering the amount of food the Crew was able to give was rather limited since they needed to make sure lasted the rest way to Alaska.

Kira looked around wishing he could do more for the homeless refugees but unfortunately he was expert in the medical field in fact he knew next to nothing about it and helping with food distributions was more or less out of the question since the most Kira could give was a couple of energy bars in his pocket.

"Flay why do you keep avoiding me?" A voice suddenly asked causing Kira to glance it its direction to see Sai following an annoyed Flay.

"Go away Sai, now that Papa's dead there's no need for us to be married anymore." Flay said leaving Sai stunned.

Kira felt a little bad for Sai he was nice guy and good friend but what Flay told him wasn't exactly a lie but still for her to disregard Sai so easily when they were actually pretty close in spite of the fact their engagement was arranged prior to what happened on Heliopolis, for Flay to simply wave all that off like it never meant a thing to her made Kira question if she was really someone he'd want to be romantically involved with.

Deciding to leave the subject alone Kira headed off further into the crowds of Refugees and crew members before he stumbled upon Natarle had a lent a child her hat and offered them an energy bar.

Kira had to admit it was rather surprising to see such an action by the second in command of the Archangel. While she showed it was possible for there to be more to her than her pro-Earth alliance and/or Atlantic Federation viewpoint back when she expressed appreciation for Kira's actions so far what she was doing now did a much better job of showing a different side since it didn't have anything to do with what was done for the benefit of the EA.

If anything it wasn't in the best interest of the EA to be sharing anything with the Refugees since it meant stretching the Archangel's supplies and making it that much harder for the ship's crew to last the entire trip to Alaska.

However astonishing the action may have been it ultimately got Natarle in a rather awkward predicament when a number of other kids gathered around her hoping she'd give the one. Natarle could only stare at them unsure of how to handle the situation and seeing the direction it was likely about to take Kira decided to step in.

"Here you all go. there are only a few so you all have to share them ok?" Kira said as a walking over to the group of kids and handing them four more energy bars calming their previous anxiousness considerably before the kid themselves ran off in various directions.

"Thank you ensign Yamato." Natarle said after the kids were out of sight."

"No problem it looked like you were in a bit of a bind so I thought I'd help in any way I could."

"Yeah well it's still a relief you showed up when you did, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to those kids when they were hoping for me to give them more bars I didn't have."

"It's fine the problem's solved. though I gotta say the Crew's really going out o their way."

"Agreed, though it's not going to do the Crew any good fundamentally even I can see these people need whatever help they can get."

"Well as Mu once told me those of us who have the power to make a difference should do just that."

"That's one way to look at things." Natarle said before another question surfaced in her mind.

"Say ensign Yamato I was wondering what made you decide to stay with the Archangel? Not that I'm complaining but back when we first met you were so reluctant to pilot the Strike."

"Well to be honest I didn't want to just leave it to my friends and on top of that there are those who were already members of the crew who I've more or less become friends with such as miss Ramius, Mu La Flaga and even you." Kira said catching Natarle off guard before Kira realized what he had just confessed.

"Oh th-that is if you're...ok with it."

"It's fine. If that's how you want to look at things between us then I don't see the problem with that but do remember your duties as a member of the Earth Alliance."

"Alright."

"Stop your all going to end up losing your lives needlessly?!" Sahib yelled out in the distance drawing Kira and Natarle's gazes towards him where they saw him glaring at a bunch of his who were arming themselves with RPGs and loading up inside jeeps.

"To hell with you, we're not staying here and wallowing in self pity!" One of the members rebuttled before driving off followed by two more jeeps.

"Dammit." Sahib cursed before heading over to an empty jeep as Cagalli headed in his direction.

"Sahib what's going on?"

"Our men decided to give chase in hopes of taking out the desert tiger." The desert Dawn's commander answered as he started up the jeep before shoving Cagalli away after she tried to climb in through the passenger side and driving off.

Barely a moment later another vehicle pulled up beside Cagalli with Ahmed in the driver seat.

"Get in, we can still catch up to the others."

"Thanks Ahmed you're a lifesaver." Cagalli said as she got in the passenger whilst Kisaka hopped in the back of the jeep with an RGP strapped to his back before Ahmed drove off.

Kira and Natarle could only stare at the scene that had just taken place before them both gaining a feeling of a worry about what the group of enraged rebels intended to do before Mu came running in their direction.

"Kid we need you to get to your machine and stop those guys." Mu said to Kira before Natarle responded.

"Has Ramius already been informed of the situation?"

"She's well aware and already issued orders to stop those guys before they get themselves killed."

"Alright, I'll head to the Strike and launch as fast as I can."

"Good, I wish I could help but the Skygrasper's weapons aren't ready yet."

"What about Heero, is he gonna be coming?"

"Probably Ramius'll probably have ensign Haw contact him."

"Alright." Kira said before jogging to the Archangel.

'Please let me get to them in time before they get themselves killed' Kira thought knowing full well that Sahib, Cagalli and those with them were only going to succeed in inadvertently digging their own graves.

XXXXX

"Heero we might need your help with stopping Sahib's men. If they try going up against BuCUEs on their own they're not going to last long." Mirriallia said.

"I know, I'm about to head after them now." Heero replied as he powered up Wing Zero.

"Thanks." Mirriallia said before disconnecting from Wing Zero's channel.

"Those guys really don't have much common sense if they actually think they'll be able to take out Zaft's commanding general." Heero said as he took off into the sky.

'If the Commander known as the desert Tiger is as dangerous as the information the Archangel's files made him out to be he won't be taken out by a group of blind rebels who're letting their personal rage dictate their actions.'

Heero thought as the makeshift attack party came into view within minutes where they were met by five BuCUEs (And yes I know it was three in the anime but I'm not following cannon detail per detail and word for word.) with a jeep up ahead of them, were easily decimating the rebels after they were idiotic enough to incur retaliation from the pilots after firing at the BeCUEs.

With the direction the rather one sided fight was taking Heero realized he'd have to act fast if he had any hope of saving anyone.

On that same note Heero took notice of the Vehicle with Ahmed, Kisaka, and Cagalli in it went underneath one of the BuCUe before an RPG round was fired.

It didn't do any considerable damage to the BuCUE but it did get the pilot attention long enough for them to raise their machine's front paw and swipe it at the Vehicle swatting it into the air and away from the BuCUE itself.

"Better engage the enemy before everyone's dead. " Heero said before changing Wing Zero back into its mobile suit form and quickly descending whilst pulling out his beam saber before severing the BeCUE in half with an overhead slash.

"What the hell? This son of bitch showed up?!" One of the other BuCUE pilots exclaimed. "I'm gonna end you for what you did to our friends!"

With that, the other BuCUE made a beeline for Heero before activating its twin saber and leaping at Wing Zero which simply ducked under the attack whilst swinging its beam saber forward horizontally severing all the BuCUE's legs which in turn fell on its side.

"Don't you think for a second this is over, land is our home territory!" The pilot of the disabled BuCUEs yelled before Heero brought Wing Zero's foot and brought down on the machine.

The Zaft's pilot's rage was soon replaced with fear as the cockpit slowly become more compressed by the second all the pilot could do was scream in pain as his entire body was crushed under Wing Zero's weight along with his machine.

Meanwhile Andrew Walfield was watching from a distance with great interest before deciding that more direct action was necessary. Grabbing the radio from the vehicle he was in Andrew contacted one of the BuCUEs.

"let me operate your machine."

There was a brief pause before a response came "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I need to fight this guy myself to see how good he really is."

"Got it." The pilot said before heading over in Andew's direction.

While that was happening the other two remaining BeCUEs began engaging Heero one decided to rely on the twin saber whilst the other strafed to the side while firing a salvo of missiles at Wing Zero.

Heero simply used his shoulder Gating guns to force the BuCUE that was trying to attack him directly to divert its path before turning Wing Zero's head towards the incoming missiles and shooting them down as he followed up with a small blast for his buster rifle aimed in the strafing BeCUE's path which easily destroyed it upon shot finding its mark.

Soon after only BuCUE decided to switch tactics and readied to use its missile silo but unfortunately for the Zaft pilot Heero was far quicker to react and merely used his Vulcan guns to shoot the missile before a single one of them could be launched from the silos resulting in an explosion that engulfed the machine.

Just when it seemed to be over Heero rear alarm went off alerting him to an incoming attack that he was already well prepared for which Heero brought his shield around in response to before multiple missiles impacted it and Heero propelled himself into the air dodging a close quarters attack from the only BeCUE left which was now piloted b Andrew Waltfield that attempted to sever Wing Zero's legs at the knee joints.

The BeCUE quickly spun itself around and fired a few more missiles with Heero swiftly countered with his Vulcans before taking aim with his buster rifle however to his slight surprise a small number of green beams flew at the BuCUE forcing it to strafe to the side to avoid them.

Heero glanced in the general direction the beams come from to see the Ail Strike heading towards the only remaining BuCUE.

Upon seeing this Heero considered simply disposing of the enemy unit but decided against it since he remembered that Kira needed to grow as a pilot of a mobile suit. Seeing as the pilot of the only remaining BuCUE was significantly more skilled than their allies they'd make an appropriate opponent for Kira to see if he truly had any potential or not.

"Damn the Strike chose the worse time to show up, I can't fight it and Wing Zero at the same time." Andrew said to no one in particular before he found himself being contacted by Wing Zero's pilot and was shocked when a window displaying a teen boy with brown hair wearing a dark green tank top shirt appeared.

"Don't worry you won't have to, from this point on the Strike's your sole opponent."

"And you really expect me to believe this?"

"Yes because it'll be good for the Strike's pilot to gain some much needed experience on the battlefield."

Upon hearing this Waltfield grinned. "While I don't particularly like the idea of being used as some kind of training dummy if it makes this fight a bit more fair for me I'll go long with it."

"He-Heero you can't be serious right now!" Kira exclaimed over the radio on an open channel.

'So the Strike's pilot is a kid too. The Alliance must be in a pretty desperate position. Still it's not much of a surprise considering our side took most of their potential game changers.'

"I am Kira, I don't plan on staying with your ship throughout the rest of the war which means you can't just inadvertently hide behind me throughout the duration of it so right here and now you need to get stronger while you have the chance." Heero replied.

"B-But...!"

"If you want to protect your friends learn to do so with your own power, I might be fighting alongside you guys but it's not because of any type of loyalty to the EA."

"Then why? Are you just fighting for the sake of it?"

"No it's because there's someone I need eliminated at any cost, that's all. As soon as that done there won't be any more reason for me to take part in this war and when that happens you'll be left to fight for your friends well being on your own so you need to be ready when that time arrives it's best you use this opportunity to gain more experience fighting stronger opponents beyond fighting the other stolen mobile suits and in turn become stronger yourself."

Kira wanted to argue back but couldn't bring himself to, Heero wasn't an official memeber of the crew or any part of the Earth Alliance as a whole so he had no real obligation to fight for the Archangel nor any reason to personally care about what became of those on board since it wasn't actually his problem (At least as far as Kira knew) and least of all to act as a makeshift shield for everyone Kira himself included to hide behind until the end of the war.

"Well if you two are done chattin let's see what you can do Strike." Andew announced before making a straight dash for the Strike causing Kira to impulsively propel himself in the air, unfortuney at the same time he did that Andrew leapt into the air straight Kira who couldn't react fast enough and kicked back to the group by the BuCUE's front legs.

Off in the distance Cagalli was holding a severely injured Ahmed in her arms after their jeep had been swatted into the air Kisaka had managed to get himself and Cagalli out in time but Ahmed was still in the Vehicle when the Zaft unit's paw impacted it leaving him in a nearly lifeless state.

"Ahmed please...hold on." She cried out desperately as the freedom fighter struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Ca-Cagalli...I'm glad you're alright." After finishing his sentence Ahmed grunted in pain and began to fell himself fade further out of consciousness

"It's going to be okay, just stay with me please!" Cagalli pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"Cagalli to me you were always..." Ahmed tried to finish but was ultimately unable to when the abyss finally claimed him.

Cagalli stared at Ahmed's now lifeless form in her arms. "Ahmed...Ahmed please wake up!" unfortunately the boy didn't show even the slightest sign of a response before reality set in. The freedom fighter that Cagalli had grown close to since meeting him was dead.

Turning towards the fight Cagalli was greeted with the sight of the Strike struggling against of a single enemy unit but another sight that caught her by surprise was when she saw Wing Zero land in the sand and simply observe the fight from a distance.

Upon registering this Cagalli felt nothing short of pure rage fill her as she put Ahmed's body and started running in Wing Zero's direction.

"Hey what the fuck are you doing!? Are you just going to let Kira die?! You're both on the same side aren't you so why the hell aren't you doing anything you asshole?" In spite of the combination of shouting and profanity that Cagalli let out she was outright ignored.

Inside Wing Zero's cockpit Heero had indeed heard Cagalli and simply switched the channel on his radio so it wouldn't pick up outside sounds and continued watching the fight.

'Time to see how far your potential goes Kira.' Heero thought as a looked on mentally assessing Kira's prowess. He'd obviously never reach a true Gundam pilots level no matter what type of experience he obtained but he wasn't absolutely lacking in possible either if the fact he had held out against the other fake Gundams was anything to go by, but as impressive as it may have been at the time luck had played a big factor in it which begged the question of if Kira's potential was real or a fluke which this battle would answer depending on the manner of its conclusion.

If Kira won then it would mean that he had the potential to gain the strength needed to truly protect his friends from whatever came his way and Heero could depart from the Archangel in the future without too much worry of the crew's well being.

If he lost or Heero was forced to step in to save him...well at that point the best Heero would be able to do is hope the Archangel reached Alaska before the worst befell them.

"Come on Strike you held out against the other G weapons before Wing Zero came into the pitcher so this can't be everything you got!" Andrew Waltfield declared as he rammed head into the Strike's raised shield causing it to stagger backward.

"Dam-Dammit." Kira cursed as he took aim with his beam rifle and fired only for Andrew to strafe out of the way of each shot while firing off missiles at the Strike.

Kira flew backward while shooting down the projectile his CIWs. Andrew meanwhile charged at Kira with his twin saber at the ready and aimed to cut through the Strike's torso causing Kira to leap to the side avoiding the full brunt of the attack but unfortunately at the cost of Andrew still managing to cut through his beam rifle leaving Kira without his primary midrange weapon.

Kira in turn tried to utilize his CIWs only for Waltfield to pull back out of the weapon's range whilst firing off more missiles. Kira managed to shoot down a few down but was forced to block the rest with his shield.

While this was happening Andrew used the opportunity to zero in on the Strike and aim to sever one of its legs with his twin saber. By some miracle Kira managed to dodge to the side in time to avoid the worst case scenario but Andrew still managed to tear a gash in the side of the Strike's leg before spinning his machine around and firing the last of the BuCUEs missiles at the Strike which hastily turned around and brought its shield up to block them.

As the projectiles repeatedly impacted the defensive armament Andrew circled around to the Strike currently unarmed side made a Beeline for it before leaping into the air.

Kira didn't fail to notice but since he had to keep where it was in order to block all the missiles and couldn't move in time to dodge the attack. As the enemy BuCUE moved ever closer for the kill time seemed to slow down for Kira.

Thoughts of his friends and the rest of the crew started to fill his mind as he began to wonder what would become of all of them after he was gone. Heero made it clear he intended to eventually depart from the Archangel long before the war even came to an end. Would everyone simply just be left on their own after that? If that was the case it begged the question of how long they'd last, would they manage to hold out the rest of the way to Alaska or the rest of the war between Earth and the Plants.

As thoughts of Flay, Sai, Mirriallia, Tolle, Kuzzy, Ramius, Mu La Flag, and Natarle passed through Kira's mind an odd image of a seed suddenly appeared in his slowly descending towards a seemingly endless of black water until it touched just enough to create a few slight but visible ripples before bursting into multiple particles of light.

Afterwards all the panic Kira felt was suddenly replaced by a rather odd sense of calmness as if Kira suddenly knew exactly what his next move should be.

As soon as the last missile hit his shield Kira engaged the Strike's thrusters and sped towards the enemy BuCUE whilst pulling his beam saber.

Waltfield was initially led to believe that Kira intended to meet his blow head on until the Strike ducked under his attack and cut off one of the BuCUE's legs off as it soared overhead.

"Hey where the hell did this come from?!" Andrew exclaimed before switching his machine to tank mode before turning around and readying himself to charge Kira again only to find out the Strike had readied itself first and flew straight for him thrusting its shield before bashing it into the BuCUEs head destroying it and bashing the rest of the unit's a few meters back.

"This kid's better than I thought." Andrew said to no one in particular before the Strike followed up with its CIWs pelting the BuCUE tearing a few more pieces of armor before another voice yelled over the radio on an open channel.

"Die Strike." Kira found himself startled as his rear alarms suddenly went off alerting him to incoming attack from behind. Kira could only wonder how whoever was behind him had got the jump him so easily.

With no time to react in any possible way that could save even with the increase in prowess after he saw that seed in his mind Kira could only wait for the end until a yellow beam soared behind him taking out the BuCUE that tried ambush his rear.

"Kira enemy reinforcements are here we're gonna have to fall back." Heero said upon contacting Kira before picking Sahib, Kisaka and Cagalli in Wing Zero's hands before taking off towards the Archangel.

"Al-alright." Kira said a bit chagrined that he was saved by Heero from the clutches of death again before following after Heero.

Left back on the battlefield Andrew exited the remains of the BuCUE he was previous operating before Decosta drove up next to him.

"I have to say I was a bit worried there for a second."

"I don't blame you, I knew the Strike's pilot had potential but I wasn't prepared for the skill he whipped out towards the end of our little skirmish." Andrew replied before smirking in anticipation. "Fighting that guy's gonna be more fun than I thought."

XXXXX

Why the hell didn't you do anything when Kira was fighting the Commander? it's not like you couldn't have taken him out on the spot!" Cagalli yelled at Heero who only gave an indifferent gaze.

Since returning Heero and Kira gave a report of what happened shocking everyone with the revelation of Heero's deliberate inaction and needless to say everyone was wanting answers though Cagalli was doing the most of the verbal inquiring.

"So Kira could get more experience out in the field."

"Heero I really need to ask what could have lead you to believe that Kira needed to go through that for the sake of experience he's already went up against the other G weapons on multiple occassions." Ramus said.

"Simple because those pilots aren't the only threat in this war and also if you don't recall I said I'd be staying with you for the time being, not the remainder of the war."

"So you're basically giving Kira the chance to sharpen his skills before you go on your way eventually." Mu said.

"Pretty much, I have my own mission to carry on but I can't just leave you to die so I'm doing something that'll leave you better prepared so you're not just shot down during your next skirmish without me."

"Hey I think you're underestimating us a bit."

"I don't think so, you were forced to use Lacus as a hostage because you couldn't stand up to Zaft forces and during the attack on us yesterday I was forced to save both the ship and the Strike and this war will only continue to pit you against fiercer enemies as it continues."

Mu was left at a loss for words, he wanted to refute what Heero had said nut couldn't, he was right in his belief that the stolen G weapon's weren't only major piece on the boarded and that the Archangel and its crew weren't all that strong considering they were always barely getting by, if anything Heero was right on the money about Kira needing to get stronger but so did the rest of the crew.

"Is that suppose to make what happened to Ahmed and the others we lost in that last fight ok?!" Cagalli screamed.

"There wasn't anything I could do, they were already dead by the time I arrived." Heero said briefly angering Cagalli further until she realized he was right and as much as she hated to admit it the truth was that it was her comrades own impulsive actions that led to their demise. she couldn't fault Heero for what happened to her comrades, sighing Cagalli walked off to turn in for the night.

XXXXX

As a shuttle and Nazca class dubbed the Salvation landed on the asphalt ground in Africa several Zaft vehicles drove onto the Plato and parked amongst them was one with Andrew Waltfied, Decosta and a woman in a blue dress with long hair that was mostly black but with orange highlights who was no not Andrew's assistant but also lover.

"Sheesh who'd have thought this special guess and the group put together to take down Wing Zero would arrive at the same time."

"As unlikely as it may have been it's nothing worth complaining over." Andrew replied before seeing the door to the Salvation carrying the special forces unit opened and extended a long staircase to the ground allowing its passengers to exit first Andrew and the others turned their attention towards it as a group of what looked to around fifteen pilots along with their captain who was at the front of the line.

Scrutinizing the group the Zaft commander noted that many of the pilots varied in age from early twenties to mid thirties most of which were donning overconfident demeanors bragging about how they were going to take down Wing Zero.

Andrew could only sigh at the sight, whatever training they went through wasn't gonna be worth shit if the pilots in question were all taking the mission lightly if anything the group was going to be in for a terrible shock the second they engaged Wing Zero in a fight.

Still that was their problem, Andrew had no desire to babysit them nor any intention of doing such. At the same time he also took notice in one particular pilot n the back of the line who didn't seem interested in the idle chatter of his teammates and simply stared ahead. Something about the pilot made him come off as significantly different from the rest of teammates at the very least they didn't take things nearly as lightly as their teammates but when all the group had descended to the bottom of the stairs Andrew was forced to give the captain his full attention when they approached and saluted him.

Tommason Stone, captain of the Salvation."

"Commander Andrew Waltfield."

"I'm guessing you're already aware why we're here."

"To capture or shoot down Wing Zero but I'm letting you know here and now you better not interfere with the rest of us or I'll have your entire squad benched."

"I can say the same to you and also your warnings or empty."

Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"You're aware I'm in charge of this region correct? And in case you were living under a rock I outrank you."

"That irrelevant since me and the squad will be operating independently of you and you're men."

"And I'm supposed to believe that with just your word alone?"

"Yes my job was to make sure you were informed and also you can check in with the higher ups if you don't believe me. So just focus on the rest of the Earth forces." Thomason said.

Andrew glanced at the squadron most of with were still chatting away idly. "That's seriously the squad that's suppose to defeat the enemy that's got the council practically shitting themselves?"

"I'm well aware that most of them are underestimating the situation but personally I'm certain the mission has a higher chance of succeeding than the squad's display is likely leading you to believe."

"And how is that most of those guys aren't the type I'd put my faith in for any critical mission."

At this Thomason merely sighed. "It's true most of will likely be eliminated but amongst them is one who actually has what it takes to carry out the mission." The Zaft captain said turning his gaze to the group which Andrew followed to one of the younger pilots and realized it was the same boy he had taken notice of before who was actually walking towards them with another boy with black hair behind.

"Captain the squad's ready to be shown to their quarters." The boy said stoically.

"Got it. I'll get information of their quarters momentarily." Thomason replied before the Zaft commander decided to get the boy's attention.

"Hey who are you?"

The boy turned to him and saluted him before replying. "Roland Quinby, Zaft red pilot."

'Roland Quinby huh, is Thomason putting all his faith in this kid.' Andrew thought as he took notice in the fact that in some ways the Zaft red was comparable to Wing Zero's pilot, both of them bore a look in their eyes that was far from what one would normally see in boys their age and both were much more stoic in their overall tones.

Still the Commander had to wonder if Thomason really was expecting Roland to take down Heero single handedly like he was indirectly implying the Zaft red may have had some of the same personality characteristics as Wing Zero's pilot but whatever skill Roland possessed with a mobile suit is what would really count for anything when the fighting started. 'Well we'll all find out the next time the fighting starts.' Andrew thought before turning to the other boy.

"And who are you?"

Like Roland the other boy simply saluted Waltfield before answering Andrew "Peleg Otto, Zaft Red sir."

Turning back to Thomason Andrew addressed the captain. "I'll have one of my men so you where your squad will be staying while they here."

"Thank you I'll leave you to meet with the other visitor." Thomason said before walking off as the door to the shuttle opened revealing one of the last people Andrew expected to see in the war torn region of Africa.

XXXXX

"Are you sure it's alright for us for us to go out?" Cagalli inquired.

"With the way Heero mobbed up so many Zaft forces the enemy's not going to be able to regroup for another attack in one night." Mu Replied.

"I know Heero did a number on them but is that really going to keep them from attack the Archangel while we're away?"

"Trust me with all the units they lost their gonna have to do a bit of reorganizing with their forces before they can do anything."

"If you say so."

"Do worry you three should just try to enjoy your time in town buying supplies for the ship, it'll do a lot of good after what happened yesterday."

Cagalli sighed. "Yeah you're probably ri-Wait what do you mean three of us? I thought only me and Kira were going to buy supplies while Sahib and Badgirual went to looking into getting us weapons."

"Yeah Heero decided to tag along, said he needed to restock on some personal supplies."

"Oh." Cagalli said not necessarily displeased with the information but not happy about it. simply put Heero wasn't someone she particularly wanted to see at the moment it wasn't that she hated him but their first meeting didn't exactly put him in her good gracious.

"There's nothing to worry about just head out and use the opportunity to unwind you need it."

"I'm not gonna argue with that." Cagalli seed heading over to a vehicle with Sahib driving, Natarle in the passenger seat and Kira and Heero in the back. Deciding to sit on the opposite side of Kira from Heero Cagalli hopped into the back and Sahib drove off.

"So uh what type of supplies are we looking for exactly?" Kira asked.

"Food for the most part having to share what you guys had to with the people who lost their homes used a good portion of what you had."

"Oh yeah. well I at least hope it helped the people we gave it to."

"They'll hold out a bit longer thanks to it." Sahib said in response to Kira's statement even though it wasn't meant for him in particular.

"That's good to know at least."

"They still need to find new homes but for now all we can really do s focus on making the Desert tiger pay for what he did." Cagalli said.

"For the moment let's just worry about restocking our supplies." Sahib said.

It took around another twenty minutes before the group reached the nearest town. Heero noted that the citizens seemed in high spirits in spite of the fact that the town itself was ultimately under Zaft's control.

It was safe to assume Zaft was allowing the people to go about their daily lives with a lot more freedom than the old earth alliance back in Heero's own universe ever allowed the people of the colonies and explained why the Desert Dawn had very little support. Even though Sahib's men were fighting for independence from Zaft they weren't making any real progress due to limited help from the locals overall population since most people were actually content with the way things were.

During the time prior to the Rebel's attempt at revenge against the Zaft commander Heero heard a few villagers saying that Sahib and his men should have taken an offer from Zaft to cease fighting in exchange for being allowed to retain all basic human rights. considering Zaft wasn't oppressing the people in the town Heero and the others came to it was fairly safe to say their offer was real. Needless to say support for the cause Sahib and his men's cause was dwindling.

Without the crew's help the Desert dawn would be finished before long with the direction things were headed in. It was little wonder they sought the Archangel crew's the as soon as the ship inadvertently came to the region.

Whatever the case was luck seemed to smile on them since they were getting the help they needed to have any fighting chance against Zaft forces.

Once the vehicle came to a stop Sahib wasted no time in exiting and neither did Heero before the others followed suit.

"We'll meet back here in three hours get whatever supplies you need in that time."

"Uh ri-right." Kira said.

As Sahib and Natarle left Cagalli walked next to Kira and grabbed his hand. "Come on let's find what we need."

"Alright just stop pulling me." Kira said before looking around for Heero only to discover the Gundam pilot had gone on ahead of them.

XXXXX

"It looks like Wing Zero's done quite a bit of damage to our forces charged with holding this." Peleg said as he looked over recent records in Zaft's archives.

"I expected as much." Roland who was laying on a replied nonchalantly.

"I can see why but one thing that I don't think any of us could have anticipated was that it seems to be aiding the rebels. Given it's track record so far I don't see any reason why it would need their aid."

"I don't think it's so much that Wing Zero's pilot needs their help as it is they need him."

"You're probably right but still what would this Heero Yuy have to gain from helping the Rebels, from what our circle knows about him his logical goal should be your elimination assuming he's not intent of destroying Zaft as a whole."

"I doubt he's after Zaft's defeat."

"What makes you say that?"

"He wouldn't have returned Lacus Clyne to our side if that was the case."

"Are you sure."

"Yeah that action strongly suggest he's far from loyal to EA's cause."

"You sure the EA wouldn't have agreed to let Lacus go."

"That's doubtful, considering their track record even before the war started the EA has never been anything close to the fair force for justice they try to make themselves out to be, plus with our technology advantage and Lacus's position as the chairman's daughter making use of her as a bargaining tool would be too good of an opportunity to pass up for the EA. but that's not all."

"There's more."

"Yes. You're aware that the memorial crew Lacus was traveling with back when she was heading to the ruin of Junious seven to perform a memorial service was wiped out right?"

"Yes that's pretty common news."

"Well something you might find initially odd was that the EA forces responsible for the crew's deaths were also wiped out."

"Ok. But how's that odd? if anything it would make sense since Lacus is still amongst the living."

"True but the thing is not a single squadron amongst our side has stepped forward to take the credit and an investigation revealed the attacking forces outnumbered what few pilots the memorial crew brought for them to have been responsible and Lacus's is maintaining she doesn't have knowledge of how they were eliminated so as things stand its officially unknown who destroyed the assaulting EA forces."

"Are you saying it was Wing Zero's pilot."

"Given that every other explanation can be ruled out it's safe to assume that's exactly what happened."

"If that's the case why are the EA allowing Wing Zero to fight alongside them if it wiped out on oft their squadrons?"

"My guess is they're in the dark."

"If that's the case then why hasn't Lucas said anything?"

"That's the only thing I don't know."

"You think Wing Zero's pilot threatened her into silence?"

"I highly doubt it, if he was forced in any type of position where he was forced to even consider doing such a thing he'd have ultimately had to dispose of Clyne himself before she was even on board the Archangel. if anything I think Lacus is feigning ignorance of his actions of her own volition."

"Wouldn't that mean she's betrayed the Plant's."

Roland's eyes narrowed.

"No, rather it's proof that Wing Zero's pilot has no interest in harming the Plants. However this might be a problem for those of us who support Keagan."

"Why?"

"Clyne's choice of keeping quiet about Heero eliminating the Earth forces squadron might mean she's against us."

"You're gonna need to explain that one."

"Well for one thing it doesn't benefit her or Zaft in any way if anything the only person it benefits is Heero Yuy."

"I can see why not telling the EA forces of his actions might benefit him but why keep Zaft in the dark."

"Because Zaft could use the information to divide Wing Zero from the EA all together, in simple terms pit the two against each other. It wouldn't mean our side would have an easier time shooting him down but it would make it harder for Heero Yuy to move about freely if both sides were hunting him."

"That still leaves the question of why Lacus would do something that supports Wing Zero."

"It actually might be quite simple. Keagan isn't fully trusted by the Zaft council but no one's in a position to make any accusations against him since they can't find any real form of evidence against him. "

"True but how does this lead to Lacus wanting to aid Wing Zero when as you said there's not even a shred of evidence painting Keagan in another light aside from one of the biggest contributors to Zaft?"

"Because Heero Yuy may have shown Clyne that evidence if he told her where he's from and why he came here."

Peleg's eyes widened considerably. "But if she knew of what you were sent to do in the other world why hasn't she told the rest of the council?"

"They'd think she was insane. Still she could prove to be a major problem regardless."

"How? Even if she's sympathetic to what Wing Zero's pilot is trying to do there's not really anything she could do even if she has chosen to become our enemy."

"I wouldn't be so sure, keep in mind she exhibits the greatest amount of influence of the Plant's population even more so than any actual member of Zaft council."

"If that's the case shouldn't we eliminate her before she can do any damage."

"Unfortunately no, if we jump the gun a kill her, Clyne's death would be thoroughly investigated and if even the slightest bit of evidence is found suggesting that anyone loyal Keagan had anything to do with it then I don't think I need tell you how complicated things could become."

"So all we can do is pretend not to know anything and let Clyne do whatever she pleases?"

"If we're lucky she might slip up in some way we can use against her but for now all we can do is focus on the mission at hand, if we can at least defeat Heero Yuy it'll mean one of the major opposing pieces on the board is gone, beyond that Keagan will be forced to act more carefully in the future."

"So our mission has become that much more critical."

"Yeah, we can't afford to fail with that much more at stake." Roland said as contemplated what he may be forced to do in the future.

As things currently stood everything he suspected pertaining to Lacus was little more than theory but something told him he wasn't wrong. whatever the case he may just get the chance to look into the matter further in the near future still if the chairman's daughter ever decided to go against Keagan's ambitions Roland would personally strike her down.

XXXXX

"Looks like we brought everything we were able to save for that Flay girl's stuff." Cagalli said as she and Kira as a table while Heero simply leaned against the other wall of a store staring at a stainless steel blade of a marine combat knife he brought along with a couple magazine clips for his personal handgun.

The supply wasn't much but at least it would mean that Heero was better prepared if any mission that required him to act without Wing Zero came in between now and when he had to assassinate Keagan which may come rather soon if the amount of men he seen gathering in the area and hiding in alleyways and on top of roofs were enough.

Judging by the fact they were all dressed as civilians it was obvious to that that were preparing an ambush, the question was for whom. Heero himself along with Kira and Cagalli could easily be ruled out as targets since the only people that would want them eliminated was Zaft but they wouldn't bother setting up an ambush so the target had to be someone else.

Heero simply readied himself to at the moment the fighting started as he watched on in anticipation.

"I guess we're not gonna find any of it in this town." Kira said.

"No shit, how the hell she thinks these brands of lotion can be found anywhere in Africa is beyond me. gotta wonder if she's been living under a rock at one point." Cagailli said seeing as education wasn't Flay's strong suit.

"I couldn't tell you." Kira replied before a waiter arrived with their food much to Cagalli's delight before she grabbed one of the bottles from the middle of the table.

"You've gotta try this chili sauce." Cagalli said as she was about to spray it on Kira's plate before another voice spoke out.

"I wouldn't recommend that, now yogurt sauce is what you should really use." A middle aged man wearing a red short sleeved shirt with and hat along with a pair of sunglasses as he grabbed another bottle off the table.

"Hey who do you think you are?" Demanded Cagalli annoyed by the man's actions'

"Just a simple passerby telling you how to correctly eat stuff from this region."

"I think I know the right way thank you very much." Cagalli said spraying Chilli sauce on Kira's food.

"He-Hey I'm telling you the food of this town goes better with this sauce." The man declared pouring yogurt on Kira's food.

The Brunette simply watched dumbfounded and unsure of how to handle the situation. however those thoughts were interrupted one another voice shouted a phrase used by those who were so blindly by jealousy that they dedicated their lives to the genocide of those who were the subject of their envoy.

"For the preservation of our pure blue world!"

Barely even a moment later two men who were standing in the middle of the road both pulled out pistols and began firing on the area where Kira Cagalli, and the unknown man were before the unknown man flipped the table on its side before pulling out a pistol of his own.

"Death to the desert tiger!" Another voice roared before two men appeared on the rooftop of the building across the street and open fired.

Cagalli who was now covered in chilli and yogurt sauce didn't fail to notice what the member of the organization known as Blue Cosmos had said as she turned to the man she had previously been bickering with.

"You're the Desert Tiger?!"

The man just smirked and removed his hat and sunglasses showing his face. "Well since the cat's out of the bag there's no use trying to deny it, but first let's deal with these guys." Andrew said as he came out from behind the table and took aim however before he could fire a single shot both members of Blue Cosmos on ground level were shot in between the eyes in disturbingly quick succession before the two on roof level followed.

Three more members of Blue Cosmos came from behind an alleyway all yelling their organization's catchphrase.

Waltfield once again was about to take aim but was beaten to the punch when two of the would be assassins ended up with a bullet between their eyes whilst the third ended up with a combat knife thrown in their thrown into the throat which they chocked on while their neck bled out profusely before they fell to the ground.

Waltfield was left dumbfounded before he turned and saw a teen boy who was previously leaning on the wall of a store silently now walking towards the corpse with the knife embedded in its neck as he put his handgun in the back of his pants.

Scrutinizing the kid's face Andrew's eyes widened considerably as he realized it was the same one he saw briefly over a radio connection prior to fighting the Strike the day before. In other words it was Wing Zero's pilot Heero Yuy.

'I knew this kid had skill with a mobile suit but even his side arm skill is nothing to scoff at, this guy's just full of surprises.' Andrew thought. For someone to take out multiple targets was one thing but the efficiency Heero displayed was actually somewhat unnerving even by the Zaft commander's standards. Waltfield had seen no shortage in high skills displayed by others but for someone to take out all enemies present before Waltfield himself could even get a single shot off was definitely a first.

Any further preponderance was ground to a halt when Zaft personnel began arriving on the scene.

"Commander are you alright!?"

"Yeah thanks to this kid." Waltfield said referring to Heero.

"Tell ya what why don't all of you came with me? We can get your lady friend cleaned up."

"If you insist." Heero replied nonchalantly.

"Hey when the hell were you in charge?" Cagalli said.

"You can stay here if it pleases you but I'm going."

"No one said anything about not going you jerk." Cagalli retorted following after Heero until she noticed Kira still standing back where they were originally about to eat. "Come on Kira."

"Oh uh ri-right." Kira replied upon being snapped out of his shocked stupor like state.

XXXXX

Upon at the Zaft headquarters via being escorted by a Zaft Vehicle Cagalli Kira and even Heero though he didn't show it nearly as much as the other two were all surprised to see it was a manor.

It didn't take long until they were led inside where Ashia was waiting to take Cagalli to get changed while Kira and Heero were taken to Andrew Waltfield's person office.

"So tell since you're obviously the Wing Zero's pilot Heero Yuy." The Zaft Commander said before turning to Kira.

"You must be the Strike's pilot am I right, with the performance you displayed during our fight I'd also venture to guess you were a fellow Coordinator."

Kira tensed up in response to this which the Zaft Commander didn't fail to notice.

"Judging by your reaction I'd say my hunch was correct." Andrew said before a Zaft officer suddenly came into the room pushing a cart with a small number of cups on them.

"The coffee you requested is ready with the newest blend you came up with." The Zaft officer said before serving the cups to everyone.

"Thank you, that'll be all."

"Sir." The officer said before leaving.

"Go ahead try it. the stuff's a personal blend I invented."

"Alright." Kira said grabbing a cup while Heero did the same silently.

Kira slowly brought the cup to his lips and was surprised by the taste he was met with. "This is really good!"

Andrew smirked at the compliment. "Thanks. Making different blends of coffee has be something of a hobby of mine for quite a few years."

The Zaft Commander known as the Desert Tiger then turned to Heero. "So what do you think?

"You've certainly got talent for it." Heero admitted.

"Glad to know there are people who recognize that, still I've yet to come up with a name for this particular blend. I'll probably ask Ashia for her thought on it.

At that moment the door to the office opened again revealing Ashia and behind her was Cagalli who was now wear an elegant sea green dress which gave her the image of girl more so then she previously had which Kira took noticed of.

"A girl?" He inquired more so then said earning a near death glare from Cagalli.

"What the hell's that supposed mean? You thought I was a boy?"

"No I was just surprised is all seeing out look like a girl."

"That amounts to the same thing asshole."

Waltfield laughed at the display. "She's the perfect little lady until she speaks." he said earning a glare from Cagalli who retorted.

"You're acting awfully laid back for someone who's meeting with the enemy.

"I guess you're right still I don't think we need to jump at each other's throats right at this moment especially since we'll be out to kill each other tomorrow but if we're on the subject I was hoping to ask these two pilots a question that might be somewhat hard to answer."

Heero just eyed Andrew silently while Kira actually replied. "What is it?"

"What exactly do you think it'll take for this war."

Kira was caught off guard by the particular question. Truth be told he often wondered what it would take for the war between the Earth Alliance and Zaft to end during his time on Heliopolis but since getting directly evolved the question of what it would take to end the entire conflict was one he often wondered about. However no matter how much he tried he was never able to come up with any real type of answer that would potentially suffice.

'I'm not really sure."

"That's hardly surprising not too many people can give a real answer to that question when they truly think about, throughout history it's often ended with one side surrenders but as things stand neither side the Earth Alliance nor Zaft have any intention of baking down since it would ultimately result in the opposing side getting too much of what they want so it would naturally stand to reason that this that the only way this fight end is when one side's completely destroyed." Waltfield said before continuing.

"In spite of that one has to wonder if a different answer exist." Andrew turned to Heero

"Tell me do you have any other answer for resolving this conflict?"

"A fight that gambles humanity's very existence pushing it so close to extinction that it loses its will to fight altogether."

Everyone present starred at the Gundam pilot complete baffled by the reply he gave.

"Ok but I was kind of looking for something a little less dark and foreboding."

"Giving an answer that appeals to everyone is too far from realistic to be believable, the answer I gave you is what likely what it would take to truly end the conflict between the Earth and Plants. If there's a more peaceful way then I'm not the person to look to for that answer."

"Fair enough but I gotta wonder what would lead you to believe humanities near extinction is what it would take."

"Certain experiences in the past." Heero answered nonchalantly.

"Like what."

"Ones that showed how far people are willing to go to harm others." Heero answered.

Andrew found the answer to be rather vague which made him more curious about Heero but he didn't press the matter any further since it was obvious Heero had no intention on elaborating.

"Well whatever the case may be as long as the war's going on we're all still enemies here." Andrew said as got up and walked over to a drawer before pulling out a pistol causing Kira and Cagalli went on edge before the former moved in front of latter to protect her while Heero simply watched on not even the least bit phased.

"Looking at it from that perspective the logical thing for me to do would be to kill all of you here. If two of you are Coordinators and one of you possesses the rumored berserker ability even you'd have trouble in this situation, hell even if you somehow got past me you two would still have to fight through your fellow Coordinators which I seriously doubt you could accomplish."

"True but we won't have to." Heero replied nonchalantly earning a raised eyebrow from Andrew.

"And what exactly makes you think that?"

"Simple, you don't intend to shoot us, if you wanted us eliminated you'd have never brought us here to begin with since there wouldn't have been any need to."

Andrew sighed in response. "True after all we'll be meeting on the battlefield as enemies tomorrow when one side will be wiped out by the other. But before we end our meeting there's one thing I feel I should give you in particular a heads up about." Andrew said more so to Heero than the others.

Heero just gave the Commander a silent looked indicating he was waiting for him to continue.

"It won't be me who's your opponent or any of the forces already stationed here but rather a special squadron the was specially trained and given new mass production type mobile suits that adopts the beam technology of the stolen G weapons put together for the sole purpose of taking you down."

"You knew telling me in advance won't do your side any good."

"True but I highly doubt keeping you in the dark will make much of a difference at least for the majority part."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

"Most of the guys in the squadron a more than a little overconfident but there's one pilot in particular who seems different from the rest, in fact he's actually around your age."

"Wait a second." Cagalli said jerking everyone's attention to her before she continued.

"You saw what Heero did to your forces right? What difference is one pilot suppose to make?"

Andrew chuckled. "To be perfectly honest I don't really know myself. From what I've found out it seems the captain of their ship seems to put a lot of faith in them and from what I've dug up when I tried to look into their case they're supposed to be even far more skilled than the La Cruset team, me, and the rest of their team and when I met them briefly they had a vibe to them that's a lot like Heero's."

Kira decided to finally ask the question that was being left in limbo. "Ok so this guy's supposed to be really skilled but who exactly are they?"

"I don't know any real details aside from what I've told you so far but they're a Zaft red by the name of Roland Quinby."

Had Andrew not casted a momentarily glance in Heero he'd have missed Heero's eyes widening so slightly he nearly mistook the sight for his imagination playing tricks on him.

"I see." Heero said honestly surprised that Roland was also in Africa and to fight him no less.

A part of him wondered if it was simply by a stroke of luck or if the Zaft Council member Keagan Brown had a hand in the arrangement. Heero guessed it was far more likely the latter since the idea of one of his targets being practically being presented on a silver platter to him simply out of a stroke of luck this soon was too far from believable. Heero figured Keagan either saw his presence in the Cosmic Era as a major threat or an opportunity to get his hands on Wing Zero.

If the scenario was the latter Heero had no intention of simply handing Wing Zero of as some kind of present. If Keagan and Roland intended to take Wing Zero they'd have to do it over Heero's dead body. On that account however the Gundam pilot needed to keep his guard up. while he driven Roland off fairly easily the first time the fact he caught Roland's group unaware and the difference in specs played a large part in it and Heero sensed that Roland definitely had the potential to become a major threat if he was given the time to improve enough and a better mobile suit the first they fought.

As fate would have it both had happened if what Waltfield was saying was true. Regardless it was hardly anything of a shock considering Roland didn't come off as the careless so Heero couldn't afford to be either.

However much Roland may have increased as a threat Heero would just have to deal with it when it came time to cross that bridge.

"Well there's no reason to believe you're not up to the task of taking Roland on Heero but just be warned I wasn't kidding when I said he was nothing like the La Cruset that stole the G weapons the gap between him and them might be bigger than you think."

"I'm not doubting you."

"Nice to know you're so trusting, unlike a certain tomboy." Andrew said earning a scowl from Cagalli.

"One more thing I should probably correct you on however." Heero said earning a raised eyebrow from Waltfield before continuing.

"I'm not a Coordinater."

What followed was a combination of silence and stares of complete disbelief from everyone save for Kira until Cagalli broke the silence.

"There's no fucking way! you're piloting a mobile suit that more powerful than anything else built to date like it was nothing and you really expect anyone to believe you're a Natural."

"Kid in spite of her foul mouth I have to agree with her, there's just no way in hell you could be a Natural, Zala might be trying to tell people that in the Plants to keep up the ruse that all Coordinators are united against the Earth Forces but with everything you've done on the battlefield since your out of the blue appearance there's just no possible way you could be a Natural." Andrew said.

"Believe what you want but what I just told you was the truth."

"I can vouch for him he's definitely a Natural he even took a blood aboard the Archangel to prove it." Kira said.

Andrew sighed. "I'll take your word for it for now but if all of us manage to survive the upcoming fight and the rest of this war I'm gonna need you guys to show me the results."

Waltfield turned to Heero. "If your seriously a Natural then you're sure as hell not anything like the rest of your kind."

The Zaft general walking over to his desk and pushed button signaling an officer outside that the meeting had ended.

"If there's nothing more to be said I'll have you guys taken back to town."

Without a word Heero simply stood up and turned to the doors the Zaft officer opened it from the outside before speaking.

"Commander you have another visitor." The officer said.

"Huh, who is it? I don't recall making plans to meet anyone else today." Andrew inquired before a feminine voice no one expected spoke from outside the hallway.

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you I was just wondering if I could see the town nearby."

Heero for the first the second time was caught off guard completely by who the voice belonged to. He would never have expected to run into her into a war torn (Albeit less then others) region after she had just recently slipped through the fingers of the opposing side.

In spite of what doubts the Gundam pilot may had the person in question walked in the doorway was indeed who he suspected, they were no longer wearing her stage performance dress but rather a one-piece white that stopped just above her knees and had pink frills at the top, overall the dress was plainer compared to her previous attire but still had its own combination of beauty and elegance.

The visitor in question scanned the room until their eyes on the Gundam pilot upon which she smiled.

"Heero! It's nice to see you go again!"

Kira and Cagalli could only stare at the person in front of them walking in the room towards Heero until the latter finally was able to ask the obvious question.

"Wh-what the hell's the Plant's pop singer doing here!?"

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter finally sorry for the long wait my job's schedual was getting in the way but that's beside the point.**

 **Auther actual notes.**

 **I see the number of favorites and followers is really climbing as well as reviews, this is pretty the most popular story of made yet, well I'm going to give it all I got to meet higher expectations but I'm, not perfect.**

 **Anyway I don't know if any of you actually noticed this but some of the BuCUE pilots got pretty brutal deaths. the reason for it is because I always found their bragging about how they were superior on land annoying and wanted to have their self inflated egos cut down to size.**

 **Also did you enjoy watching Flay get rejected by Kira? I sure as hell enjoyed writing it, since Kira's not torn up over the passengers dying since they didn't die in this story there's no reason for him to be such an emotional reck that he starts screwing the ABSOLUTE LAST person he should even have been with or seeked support from. on that account I'm also gonna give Flay a far more gruesome death than the one she got in cannon when the time comes...What? I'm a full on Flay hater.**

 **On that same note however...I kind just found out getting Kira and Natarle to head toward a romantic direction is going to be much trickier than I had originally thought I just hope that brief scene where Kira helped out of that rut she was in with the kids who lost their homes was a good enough start.**

 **And while I still remember because I know some of are probably going WTF over how Heero's and Cagalli's first interaction was, well I figured since Heero's only goal is eliminating Keagon and Roland's his only concern right now so he had no reason to bother meeting Sahib or any of Desert Dawn, when you take his dismissive atitude and Cagalli's wanting to know about Wing Zero and being pissed off at the sight of it and the Strike into account I much pretty figured something like that would happen.**

 **As for Heero's decision of letting Kira fight Andrew, I originally was going to have Heero curbstomp Andrew but I later decided it wouldn't work since he's gonna already be fighting the specail squadron the Roland is going to be leading. though Originally I was going to make Heero's reason for doing so simply to hammer home the message that he isn't going to hold Kira and the Archangel crew's hands through the whole war but felt it made him come off as too uncaring, ganted he's not close friends with anyone on the ship but I figured he'd be considerate enough to push Kira in the right direction tin terms of getting stronger.**

 **And before I wrap up the notes yes the person at the end was Lucas I was going to give a hint one of the previous chapter but figured this would be a nice surprise. But in all seriousness I wasn't actually going to wait all the way until the fight where Athrun nearly kills Kira for Heero and Lacus' second meeting, that would leave limited room for relationship development between the two plus the two which brings me to my final points**

 **First the next chapter is going to be centered around deepening the relationship between Heero and Lacus AKA fluff and also with a matter pertaining to Lacus I actually have something in mind that'll make her OCish but I think most off you will love it since in will drastically increase her role in later parts of the story and how much she does which on that account I don't get why so many people bash her, I knowwhen she's first introduced she omes off as an airhead that doesn't do anything but later on she speaks out against Zala's beliefs and leads the Eternal in hopes of stopping the war so she's a lot more respectable and likable the some people give her credit for.**


	7. faith and encouragement

**Alright here's the seventh chapter of a new reason to live well as I said before the main focus of this part is going to be relationship development / Fluff Heero and Lacus I hope its to everyone's liking.**

 **Disclaimer I don't own Gundam Wing/Seed**

* * *

It was rare for Heero to be unsure of how to handle any situation but Lacus Clyne appearing in Africa completely out of the blue was definately one of the few things that fitted rather well into that particular category.

Kira much like the Gundam pilot was at a complete loss of words Lacus being brought to the Archangel was one thing albeit a scarcely believable one but still, to be in Africa where fighting was raging on was something the young Coordinator could not have expected.

The silence lingered on until Andrew finally decided to speak up.

"Ms Clyne here is something of a special guest here."

"And why would the Plant's top pop idol want to come to a war torn region of Africa of all places. Shouldn't She have went to a place little more safe from enemy forces."

Waltfield merely smirked at the inquiry. "Hate to break it to ya but this is one of the safest places under Zaft's control in spite of it being a so called war torn state as you put it though I knida of doubt the name really applies to this place."

Cagalli glared at the Zaft commander. "And how the fuck do you figure that? you're amidst enemies aren't you?"

Waltfield simply kept his smirk. "Maybe from the Archangel and Strike, and it goes without saying in the case of Heero and his Wing Zero but you and the rest of the rebels are more of a minor nuisance than an actual advisory."

Cagalli's glare deepened into a full on scowl before she turned to leave. "Come on we're leaving."

"Wait." Lacus said drawing everyone's attention before turning to Heero.

"Um Heero I was actually planning on seeing this town with my own eyes and I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me."

Everyone's eyes save for Heero's went wide surprise considering the irrational nature of the request.

Cagalli couldn't figure out why the Plant's pop Idol was asking an enemy pilot to accompany her, doing such a thing was just asking for a hostage situation to happen, surely Lacus had to know the Heero was an enemy pilot on the Earth Alliance's side. With everything Heero's done in the short time span he's been around surely news of his exploits had to have reached the songstress' ears. Cagalli had to wonder if Lacus was incredibly ignorant of everything around her or just lacking any common sense.

Kira though not as much as Cagalli was still shocked and rather off put by Lucas' question but that died down as soon as he remembered that Heero seemed to only open up to her and that he was the one who made certain the Earth Alliance wasn't simply allowed to use her in any way they wished so it might have made sense for Heero to have Lacus' trust.

Andrew and Aisha were both off put by the songstress' particular, it was rather unlike her to want to go somewhere with an enemy of the plants(As far as they knew) but then again her wanting to come to Earth wasn't exactly something that could be considered a normal occurrence. Both were also aware that if there was one thing Lacus was good at aside from singing(And exhibiting a lot of influence over the citizens of the Plants) it was having good judgement of another person's character so if she trusted the pilot known as Heero Yuy neither one of them would protest her decision to go with him assuming he agreed to her request.

Heero didn't show it but even he didn't expect this particular development. Lacus' being in Africa wasn't something he would have ever considered let alone accounted for and her asking him to join her wasn't something he would have ever anticipated. They may have agreed to become friends but Heero had to wonder if Lacus truly trusted him enough to go somewhere with just him. Looking at it from a logical perspective one would naturally consider it unwise considering who Heero was currently working with granted he didn't have any actual allegiance to the EA but still.

Another part of him wondered if he should go through with it, it was less than relevant to his mission of hunting down and eliminating Roland Keegan and anyone else who was made aware of the existed of his world. On the other hand it wasn't like he had any immediate pressing matters to attend to. Any data on the enemy mobile suits he could get his hands on he already had in his possession and any records of what happened so far since he came to the Cosmic Era have already been jotted down in his PC's documents. When it came to Roland while it was apparent he was in also Africa Heero had no specific leads on where he was in the town and even if Heero stumbled across him by some off chance he'd never know since he didn't know Roland's face. All that combined with the fact that the Archangel and remainder of the dessert dawn forces wouldn't be fighting Zaft forces until tomorrow essentially meant that the remainder of the day was essentially free for Heero to do what he wanted.

He figured if others like Sally po, Noin, Quatre, Duo(Who'd probably use the opportuntiy to tease him or make some kind of joke about the situation), and even Relena knew they'd likely encourage him to do so.

Trowa he figured would likely do the same. Wufei would probably be against it with his particular view of woman. Overall when it came to those who knew Heero personally it was safe to assume they'd support the idea for the majority part.

"If that's what you really want, I'll go with you."

Lacus smiled at this. "Thank you!"

"Wait Heero you're seriously going to go with her?" Cagalli asked.

"Yeah."

"Heero she's the top Pop Idol of the Plant's I highly doubt Zaft forces are going to let you go anywhere you want with her."

"There's no problem, If Ms Clyne wants the pilot of Wing Zero to accompany her then I'll allow it." Andrew said earning a look of total disbelief from the blond tomboy.

"You do realize he's currently Zaft's enemy."

"True but Ms Cyne's not exactly a member of Zaft so Heero and her aren't really enemies."

"And you're not worried Heero might try to take your pop star hostage."

"Somehow I get the feeling I don't need to worry about that happening."

Cagalli could only stare at the Zaft commander in further disbelief. Seriously was he really so naive that he'd leave the Plant's most famous singer and chairman's daughter in the hands of someone who was on the opposing side?

Deciding she no longer cared due to the sheer stupidity of the arrangement she stormed out to find her clothes so she could leave.

Kira who had been silent until now turned to Heero not really sure what to make of what just happened. "I guess I'll see you later so uh...have fun." Kira said before heading out the door.

With his Original company now gone Heero turned to Lacus. "Where do you want to go first."

"I suppose the market would be a good place to start."

XXXXX

Have final adjustments to the skygrasper been completed?" Mu La Flaga asked as he entered the Archangel's docking bay .

"Just about." Murdoch answered eyeing the mobile Armor.

"Not only is it now ready for some actual combat but it's able to use the Strike's launcher pack so you won't have to worry about not being able to stand up to the G weapons."

"Good to know though if we're lucky enough Heero might just mop the floor with the remaining three." Mu replied.

"It'd be quite one hell of a relief if he did but I'm not too sure if we can trust him to do that after that stunt he pulled during the last fight with Zaft forces."

Mu could only inwardly sigh, while Heero's unprecedented prowess made his assistance to the Archangel's crew on the battle field something of a dream come true his decision leaving Kira to fight the Desert Tiger on his own caused most of the Crew to become much more wary of him. Needless to say they were starting to question weather they could truly trust him or not.

Mu couldn't blame them outright since what Heero had done could have very likely cost Kira his life and the EA its only mobile suit in other words had things gone wrong the EA would have lost its most critical asset.

Still unlike the others Mu also didn't throw away what faith he had in Heero since his reasoning for doing what he had was pretty sound all things considered. Kira had developed some considerable skill with the Strike since the destruction of Heliopolis but he still had a long way to go if he was going to survive throughout the course of the war and relying on Heero for literally anything on everything on the battlefield wasn't going to make that happen. Plus since Heero's stay on the Archangel was only temporary whatever experience Kira accumulated between now and then would help out a great deal.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. While putting Kira in the spot light doesn't exactly paint the best picture of him I doubt he's gonna downright desert us and leave us to die during a fight with Zaft."

"I hope you're right."

XXXXX

"I knew this place would be different from the Plants but I'd have never been able to imagine anythng like this!" Exclaimed an excited Lacus as she and Heero walked through the town looking at the various jewelry, food, and clothing stands.

Heero had to admit he was a bit surprised at the amount of enthusiasm Lacus was showing. Granted there were more than a few things the Earth had to offer that couldn't be found in space in spite of how infinitely vast it was and it wasn't unheard of for someone born and raised in space to have their interest perked by the little things on Earth.

With the infatuation Lacus was showing Heero could tell this was her first time on Earth, the sight of her enjoyment of the experience was something that oddly felt as if it was a welcome change of pace from the usual missions.

The Gundam pilot was a bit unsure of how to handle the odd sense of content he had, it wasn't something he was used to. The closest thing he had ever felt to it was during the time he was with Duo transferring from school to school during the beginning of operation meteor but even then his mind was always on anticipation for the next assignment for the mission of taking down OZ.

This was literally the first time Heero found himself simply able to forget the battlefield even if it was just for part of a single day.

Not even Relena was able to do that, though back before he seemed to drifted apart from her a large part of the Gundam pilot wanted and hoped to find a path that didn't simply resolve around finding the next target to kill and would have allowed him to stay by her side.

Even though that never came true Heero still had to wondered if things could have turned out differently had he made more of an effort to become closer to Relena than he had after the eve wars had initially ended.

Whatever the case it hardly mattered now since there wasn't anything he could do to change how things went in the past. Still just being able to enjoy something as simple as this without the worry of a shootout taking place(For the majority part) was something that made the Gundam pilot wonder it meant there was actually a possibility of himself being able to live for something more other than constant fighting and killing.

Still for the moment Heero couldn't really be sure about any type of possibility of that actually happening, for the time being at least he'd simply spend the remainder of the day with the songstress of the Plant.

"Earth is different from space in more than a few ways."

"I've noticed." Lacus said as she eyed a stand eyed a stand with jewelry and trinkets or more specifically a teal colored jewel shaped like a water drop earning an very slightly raised eye from Heero.

While he didn't know Lacus very well by any means he at least had the impression that her general interest lied somewhere else than materialistic desires.

"Is that a Star Tear?" the songstress asked.

"Why yes I see you've a fine eye, there aren't many who know of this particular piece." The stand owner said.

"I was told the Star Tear symbolized a special bond between to people."

"You are correct, the Star Tear is meant to be gift from a man to woman who means a great deal to him."

Lacus smiled to widen a bit but not to little for Heero to notice. 'If it's the jewels meaning that's got her interest, probably should have figured the usual appeal wouldn't be the reason for her interest.'

The "usual appeal" was referring to how much the jewel may have been worth money wise or how appealing it'd look on her, but just from the sincerity and honesty she had shown when they had met previously alone it should have been obvious Lacus was not the stereotypical type who desired any type of rare or appealing item they could get their hands on because of materialistic greed.

That flawed and self centered characteristic could probably be applied to Flay but weather it was true or not Heero couldn't have possibly cared less.

Still seeing Lacus having so much interest in the Star Tear made the Gundam pilot inwardly question if the songstress had someone in the Plants she deeply cared for but decided not to ask about.

Lacus was his friend but that didn't mean he was going to pry into every aspect of her personal life especially when it wasn't any of his business. If there was someone who meant enough to her that she wished for a special bond with then the Gundam pilot would wish her luck.

The conversation went on for a bit before the stand owner revealed the price of the Star Tear revealing that the songstress was unable to afford it with what money she brought with her so the two teen simply continued their stroll through the town.

Unbeknownst to either of them however a spectator was watching from the roof of a three story building via a pair of binoculars. The onlooker in question was none other then Otto Peleg.

Eyeing the pair the Zaft red's eyes narrowed in suspicion. When he had initially volunteered to tail the songstress he hadn't really expected to uncover much, maybe some kind of suspicious phone call at best. Seeing her exploring the town with some random guy and his and Roland's age wasn't anywhere within his line of expectations.

The guy in question wasn't one of the natives and they certainly weren't with Zaft so that left the question of just who were they. The best answer Peleg could think of off the top of his head was some secret lover but he doubted that was the case since a war torn region would make a terrible meeting place especially since the legged ship, Strike, and far more importantly for anyone who's loyalties lied with Keagan Brown Wing Zero were all there.

Whoever the guy Lacus was current accompanying her was more or less irrelevant. If the case scenario he dismissed turned out to be the truth then he wouldn't have anything to prove it aside from his word and that would only create an image of him trying to slander the songstress' image in the minds of the Plant's denizens and all that would accomplish is drawing himself and anyone associated with him unwanted attention which wouldn't help Roland's cause for furthering Keagan's ambitions.

Whoever the guy was Peleg doubted they were any enemy of Zaft since any fellow members of the Plant's protective military stationed around the town were shooting curious glances at the two teen at most but not much more beyond that meaning they had to at the very least have been notified that the guy wasn't an enemy.

XXXXX

At the docking area of one of the Plant's was a teen boy wearing a Zaft red uniform and had short and slightly spiky blond hair by the name of Daniel Irons who was also the son of the late McCarthy Irons.

He was an ACE pilot who was originally going to be assigned to the LA Cruset team as a part of the mission to steal the GAT series that was constructed on Heliopolis but declined the assignment since he didn't want to risk inadvertently killing civilians.

Daniel like his father believed in the ideals of Seigel Clyne and by extension Lacus Clyne, when he had heard that his father was killed by EA forces on the way to the ruins of junius seven the Zaft pilot was initially grief stricken which almost turned to hatred until he remembered his fathers promise not to become consumed by revenge should he die in the line of duty.

As such Daniel had strived to move forward and continue living by the self righteous ideals of his father and that of the moderates within the Plants council.

Now much to his surprise Daniel soon found out he had been assigned to the La Cruset team to fill in the space the departed Yzak Joule and destroyed Duel. As far as what machine he'd be assigned Daniel only knew it was a new G weapon that's construction was started initially with being the prototype for line of special mobile suits Zala planning on having constructed in the near future that were according to him meant bring an a swift end to the war.

The unit in question being assigned to Daniel was known as the All Rounder.

As Daniel boarded a shuttle that was set to head for the Earth he sighed. Whoever the pilot of Wing was they weren't someone Daniel wished to meet on the battle tough rather than out fear like many others in Zaft it was out of an uncertain point of view. simply put he wasn't sure if the Pilot was truly an enemy of the Plants or not. It was true he had been fighting Zaft forces since his debut but he also returned Lacus to Zaft forces allowing her to safely return to the Plants'

If Wing Zero's pilot was truly someone who meant harm to the People of the Plants like the EA, Atlantic Federation, and most of all Blue Cosmos like everyone was acting like he was than why did he give up an opportunity to use Lacus as leverage? He couldn't have been a typical Blue Cosmos member or citizen of the Atlantic Federation. Still that left the question of why he was fighting Zaft in the first place and that wasn't counting a lot of other unanswered inquires.

Sighing Daniel simply accepted he wouldn't be getting answers anytime soon and just resolved to meet up with the team he would soon be working with.

XXXXX

"So Heero what's happened since the last time we've met?" Lacus asked suddenly shifting the focus of her conversation with Heero from her ogling the little things that made the town unique once the two were out of earshot of everyone else.

"Has news not reached the ears of the Plant's general public?"

"Only that you've proved to that much more dangerous with each battle. And that you destroyed one of Athrun's teammates... in a rather unorthodox way." Lacus face saddened as she said the second part of the sentence before continuing whilst looking away.

Heero began to wander if news of his exploits had caused Lacus to think differently of him. Oddly enough a part of him felt worried but not it wasn't because of the possibility of the songstress deciding to tell anyone in Zaft, Heero was worried about being resented by her.

"Athrun was and his friends were rather upset."

Lacus met the Gundam Pilots' gaze again.

"Heero please tell me what happened before you came to Earth, many in the People in the Plants are saying you're a monster for what you did to Athrun's friend but I know there has to be more to the story." Lacus pleaded surprising the Gundam pilot, it seemed news of what happened during the fight between Zaft and the Eighth fleet was a subject that served to upset her.

Even so Heero felt a sense of relief when Lacus expressed that she hadn't lost faith in him.

"The Duel's pilot refused to retreat even after I had done a considerable amount of damage to his mobile and pushed things to far when a shuttle carrying refugees from the destroyed colony of Heliopolis passed between us."

"What did he do?"

"He tried to destroy the shuttle and I couldn't let that happen so I inflicted further damage to his machine until it was essentially inoperable and left it burn up in the Earth's atmosphere."

"Is there something in particular that caused you to use the method you did, were you upset by the other pilots actions?"

The Gundam pilot was once again inwardly surprised, in spite off how dunce Lacus could come off as she was actually rather sharp when she wanted to be.

Thinking about weather he should answer the question honestly before deciding if there was anyone in the entirety of the Cosmic Era who he could trust it was Lacus since he already told her where he was from.

"What the Duel's pilot attempted to do reminded me of something from my past that I'm less than proud of."

"What was it?"

"A mission gone wrong from years ago which resulted in the death of someone who shouldn't have lost their life." Heero answered before going into detail.

"A couple years back I was given a mission to destroy an enemy base during the night, but earlier the day before after I had got done planting the explosives I had planned to use to destroy the facility I met a girl who was simply walking her dog."

"What happened next?"

"She asked me if I was lost and I told I was since the day I was born, she then gave me a flower to cheer me up."

"I see." Lacus said before waiting for Heero to continue.

"That night when I detonated the facility the explosion also ended up sending a mobile suit into an apartment complex. The building in question turned to be where she lived. I found the body of her dog."

"What about the girl?"

"I was never found her body."

"Than maybe it's possible that she escaped."

"No the enitre building was demolished. There's no way she got out."

"Heero do you regret it?"

"To this very day." Heero answered somberly.

"How did what happened with the other pilot remind you of that?"

"Prior to the fight another girl around the same age same gave both me and Kira paper flowers."

"She reminded you of the other girl from your world."

"Yeah, because of that I wanted to ensure no matter what happened she would make it safely to the Earth and when the DUel tried to destroy the shuttle she was on I acted to stop him."

"Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome but can I ask you something personal?"

"Of course it's only fair since I had you bring up a rather unonfortable memory."

"Is there another reason you here to the Earth? While sightseeing alone what normally be enough of a reason to see it you have enough sense to know that ths isn't the best time with the war going on."

"It seem you're quite sharp Heero."

"I could say the same to you."

"Well you're right, I do have another reason for coming to the Earth. I wanted to see what was happening with the world as well as the war."

"Are you sure that's what you want? War's not nearly as glorious as TV shows make it out to be."

"I'm aware it's likely much more horrendious than I can imagine I caught a glimpse of what it was really like just before you saved me from the Earth forces." Lacus said before continuing.

"But even so I don't want to simply live in ignorance of it and even more so I'm want to find out how to bring it to an end."

"I'm not sure how I can help you there. From what I've discovered since I came to this world it's likely the EA's goal is the genocide of your countrymen so chances are they won't be engaging in any type of peace talks anytime soon."

"I know but I still wish there was more I could do help achieve peace." Lacus replied slight frustration laced in her voice.

"Just give it time." Heero said surprising Lacus.

"If you search enough you'll find you're answer, if there's a way of resolving this peacefully I'm sure you have the potential to achieve it."

"Heero...thank you, I think I needed to hear that." Lacus said.

"Anytime."

"Can I make an unusual request?"

"Alright."

"When I find my answer and pursue it...will you be the to help me when I need it?"

Heero was initially silent taking time to think about the particular request. From a logical perspective he should have immediately refused. Beyond eliminating those who were intent on getting any technology they were able from the his world for the war raging between the EA and Zaft was completely irrelevant, it was already problematic enough that Heero had to reveal Wing Zero's existence to the people of the Cosmic Era and even get as involved as he already was since it was bringing more then a little unwanted attention from curious eyes.

The Rational thing to do would to simply eliminate those who were a threat to the peace of his world and immediately head back assuming he obtained the means to do so by then but in spite of all that...

"If I'm able to, I'll be one of the allies you can count on."

Gundam was caught completely off of guard when he suddenly found himself an embrace by the songstress.

"Thank you such much Heero, I know this might make things difficult for you but it means a lot to me to know I have your support."

"Don't mention it." Heero said despite the fact he was off put by what he had just decided.

Finally letting go of the Gundam pilot Lacus regained her usually cheerfulness.

"I'm glad I got to see you again, I had a wonderful time with you."

"So did I." Heero admitted.

"The day's almost over so I have to head back, Still whatever might happen in the future please live, I want to see you again and know I'll always support you." Lacus said before she began her treck back.

XXXXX

The Gundam pilot was more than a little confused. Practically everyone decision he had made concerning the Plant pop idol was the wrong.

By all logic he should have been making it a point not to get involved with her beyond anything pertaining to his personal mission and yet he practically went on what by some standards could have been thought of as a date.

Then again it was rather impulsive that he had decided to trust her with the information that he was from a different world so soon after he had initially met. But was something about that made it easy to trust her if the fact he had been willing to share his most regrettable memory with her when he hadn't even told any of the other Gundam pilots or even Relena about it.

It started to seem like Lacus was managing to bring out a side of Heero that he never would have known existed, Heero normally never felt this at ease around some else well aside from Relena but even that took a great deal of time, Lacus must have been someone truly special if she could do the same thing after only their second meeting.

As he continued heading for the entrance of the town he notice the trinket stand that had caught Lacus' attention or more specifically the Star Tear she had wanted. Remembering how she seemed to have an interest in its meaning Heero mentally sighed as he was about to make another decision.

XXXXX

Lacus had to admit today was probably one of the best in her life. Since she became a singer she quickly found out the high amount of attention that came with it made it a bit difficult for her simply to have normal down to earth days like today since she couldn't walk three steps outside her home without someone recognizing her and going into full fan boy/girl mode.

Granted she was glad people liked her music she didn't wanted to be in the spot light literally every moment of her life. Being with Heero today was a rather invigorating breath of fresh air for a few reasons.

It allowed her simply to have the normal day she rarely got and allowed her closer, when news of what Heero did to the Duel reached her ears and people started saying the Gundam pilot was an unhuman monster Lacus was genuinely upset by the slanders even if she didn't initially show it.

While Heero could often times be rather ruthless on battle field Lacus knew that there was more to him than an emotionless killing machine, that at heart he was a kind person the fact that he saved her when the memorial crew was attacked and kept her safe when the Archangel's Crew tried to restrain her for interrogation was proof.

In short Lacus had seen the kinder side of the Gundam Pilot which in combination of him being her friend was why she didn't like what was being said about him by the people of the Plants granted their fear of him was understandable but that didn't make their beliefs right which was also why Lacus wanted to hear Heero's side of the story.

She was also thankful that Heero gave her encouragement she needed to continue forward in her drive to restore peace to Cosmic Era. Originally she only spoke over broadcast to encourage Zaft soldiers to never lose hope and went to perform the memorial because she felt at the time it was all she could do.

But now she wanted to do more for the sake of bringing the needless bloodshed and tragedies to an end, she wanted to become stronger she could do more then simply give speeches of encouragement, she wanted to be in a position where she could personally protect those important to her, where she could fight directly along side Heero.

XXXXX

Atop a building on the edge of the town Peleg Otto watched has the boy who had been accompanying Lacus throughout her trip throughout the town left. While many of the previous scenarios that came to mind off the of his head were dismissed such as if the boy was some kind of secrete lover or if they were an enemy pilot in the beginning, they were looking much more likely to have actual truth to them, the former was because of the way the two teens were visiting various places gave off the impression of a date and the embrace Lacus had gave the boy didn't do anything to disprove that impression.

The latter was because the boy appeared to be headed in the general direction of the location of the where the legged ship was last spotted. If that was the case they had to be someone who was fighting along side the EA.

But that still left the question of who on the legged ship would possibly consider going on a possible date with the chairman of the Plant's daughter instead of taking her back to the ship to use for their side's benefit.

The only person who had any track record of doing such a thing was...

Peleg's eyes widened considerably. "Heero Yuy."

That was the only person on the ship who any sign of having any kind of friendly relationship with songstress was the otherworldly pilot of Wing Zero.

Were Roland's suspicions about Lacus right after all? Was she really siding with the pilot from the other world?

Peleg's eyes narrowed and his hand clenched into a tight fist.

"Lacus if you're really planning on getting in our way I swear to god I'll personally wipe you from the face of existence." He declared.

Just as Roland decided he'd wipe out anyone who opposed or threatened Keagan, Peleg would kill anyone who became Roland's enemy.

XXXXX

In the back of the estate being used as the Zaft HQ in Africa Roland Quinby was using a shooting and hitting a target in the exact same spot repeatedly in quick succession displaying skill with a firearm that many would consider inhuman even by Coordinator standards.

After the said target went down other came up hit Roland hit each of dead center in quick succession with an abnormal amount of ease that could have easily been considered off the charts.

It was by this time that Thomason showed up holding a digital tablet. "Roland Keagan wants to have a word with you before the mission tomorrow." The Zaft Captain said before handing the tablet over to Roland who saw it was connected to Keagan's personal channel if the fact that his face was being displayed didn't make it obvious enough.

"Keagan sir has anything come up?"

"No I just wanted to speak with you about you're mission pertaining to our otherworldly enemy before you went into battle."

"I'll do whatever it takes to capture or if need truly be destroy it."

"I expect nothing less from you however if it ever looks like as if the worst case scenario is going to come into fruition I want you to retreat."

"If the mission fails here things will become a lot more complicated for you since the matter of Wing Zero will likely be put back into Zala's hands."

"That's true but keep in mind the best resources he has in hand are those pitiful pilots under Rau La Cruset's command and if what happened with the Duel was enough of a hint that team is even less to speak of then we had originally thought."

Thomason decided to add his own reply to what Keagan had said "Be that as it may we should still commit everything have to taking Heero Yuy out of the pitcher here and now, and besides however skilled he may be it's nothing Roland can't match plus with the rest of the special forces team at his beck and call along with the GuIAZ which might I add can fight on par with the GAT series he'll have more than enough resources to take down Wing Zero."

"I might have our newest suit, but bear in mind the GAT series is far inferior to Wing Zero and many of the members of the team under my command are taking this too lightly but even so are you sure you want me to retreat if things go wrong?" Roland inquired.

"Yes, while it's true you're my greatest trump card on the battle field you're also the person I can truly think of as family so I want you to be there when the ideal world without any further wars becomes reality." Keagan replied.

"If that's truly what you want then I'll prioritize my survival."

"Thank you and good luck." Keagan said before cutting the connection.

"I'll make sure the men understand they're not up against you're run of the mill opponent." Thomason said before leaving as Peleg showed up.

"Did tailing Lacus turn up anything?" Roland asked not beating around the bush.

"Yeah Lacus was with an unknown person will she was out exploring the town."

"It sounds to me like it was nothing but your typical date."

"Yeah that's what I got the impression of but I wanted to be sure so I continued tailing them until they had separated and the other person in question left the town."

"That alone doesn't really suggest anything."

"Not on it's own but that combined with the fact that they were heading in the general direction of the Legged ship's last sighting suggest they may have been a member of the ship's crew."

Roland instantly realized where exactly he was going with this. "You believe that the person in question may have been the pilot known as Heero Yuy."

"I don't have anything confirming that, but out of anyone on that ship he's the only who has any track record of having any kind of friendly relation with the chairman's daughter if his bringing her back to Zaft is anything to go by."

"So my hunch about ms Clyne possibly supporting him may have held more truth than I had initially believed."

"Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Keagan contacted us and issued me orders to prioritize my survival above all else."

"Are you displeased with the request?"

"No it's just like I believe we should commit everything we have here and now. If this mission fails things will become a lot more complicated since Zala will likely be given the reigns again and Wing Zero will be allow to devastate Zaft force that much longer."

"While that may be true I have to agree with Keagan." Peleg said causing Roland to stare at him.

"While it's true we need to take down Wing Zero in the shortest timespan possible but that won't mean much if your life is lost in the process. If we hope to utilize the best machine possible in this war we'll need a pilot who has the potential to master and bring out its fullest potential."

"You might be right but still I'm not exactly keen on going into such a critical fight with halfhearted resolve."

"Understandable but regardless you're still the best pilot we have and you possess an endless amount potential to grow even stronger which is why Me, Thomason, and Keagan himself are all putting our faith in you to defeat Wing Zero and as such you're too valuable to die here. If anyone needs to be sacrificed then I'll lay down my own life."

"I'd prefer you didn't, while you might think your life expendable I'm relying on you to support me throughout this campaign."

"Acting as the pillar that supports your goals of furthering Keagan's ideals has been my sole reason for living since the day I became a pilot."

"I know, but you're also my closest friend as such your support means great deal to me."

"Don't worry I have no intention of dying needlessly."

"Good I'll be holding you to that." Roland said before gazing at the setting sun."

'Heero no matter what it takes I won't let you get in the way of Keagan's plans, this desert will be your grave.'

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Sorry for the wait I meant to get the chapter out a week earlier but I was forced to change a few scenes because a lot of thing's I would have liked to happen between Heero and Lacus couldn't take place where they currently are so I'll have to save them for their next meeting.**

 **I hope you all liked it none the less, I know it might not be all that much but I kinda of had to work with what I had. Anyone I hope the way I showed that even though the Plant's general population is becoming increasingly afraid of Heero Lacus still holds faith in the fact that he's a good person at heart.**

 **And how Heero gave Lacus encouragement that she could do more for the sake of achieving piece. I figured it would make for good character development so there's a reason she goes from a seemingly dunce airhead to a charismatic leader, I realized after watching seed again that her change in character actually was a bit out of the blue so I wanted to remedy that and this will also lead to the OOish side which the chapter pretty gave a big hint at enough so that for most of you it's probably obvious.**

 **Up next is the fight between Zaft forces and the Archangel along with the dessert dawn or more so to the next clash between Heero and Roland.**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter and what your anticipating in the next one.**


	8. unreal prowess

**Sorry for the delay but it had to be done to ensure the chapter didn't just end up consisting of nothing but rushed dialogue and fighting alone I had intended to have this out before new years came around but circumstances in my personal life got in the way.**

 **disclaimer I don't own Gundam Wing or seed.**

* * *

The Zaft commander also known as the Desert Tiger had already been in for quite a few surprises today from the time he was informed of Lacus suddenly deciding she wanted to come to Africa to see the war effort with her own eyes to when Heero Yuy turned out to be every bit the threat the rumors made him out to be or when the Strike's pilot showed unexpected potential and turned out to be a fellow Coordinator and that wasn't even counting when Lacus decided she wanted to see the town with the Heero.

And now just when Waltfield thought the stream of consecutive shocks were finally over the chairman's daughter decided to ask for something even more unthinkable than her previous request to head out with the Wing Zero's pilot.

When she had initially brought the subject to the Commander's attention he immediately tried to deter her finding the request in question to be unthinkable and suspecting the Wing Zero's pilot put the idea in her head but quickly found out he was wrong when he made his said suspicion known and it only incited a rare surge of anger from the songstress which the Commander which quick to apologize for.

After the songstress calmed down she went on to explain what the actual reasoning was for her decision the Commander reluctantly relented and decided to make certain arrangements so the songstress could do what she wanted without her father immediately knowing though he'd eventually find out.

Waltfield sighed in exasperation as he readied himself to retire for the night. 'Siegel's gonna have a heart attack when he finds out about this.'

"Are you still worried about Lacus?" Aisha suddenly inquired.

"More than you can probably imagine, who would've thought the deaths of the memorial crew would've had this much of an impact on her."

"She's just choosing to handle it in her own way."

"I know but still this means she could very well be in a lot of danger in the future."

"True but it's her decision to make, the best either of us can do is support her, I'm sure Siegel will see that with enough time."

"Yeah, still this is going to have him sitting on constant pins and needles when he finds out." Waltfield replied before deciding to finally retire.

'Who would've thought Lacus Clyne of all people would decide she wanted to become a mobile suit pilot.'

XXXXX

"I swear they're just doing this to rub everything that's happened up until now in our faces." Groaned Dearka.

"There's nothing we can do about it." Athrun replied.

"Come on, first they decide to leave Wing Zero to that team organized by a guy who's way too secretive to actually be trusted and now the Strike's gonna be left to the Commander at this base? This is adding insult to injury."

"Maybe but it's not our call to make." Nicole said.

"I know. But I still have to say this Commander's full of himself." Dearka replied before smiling.

"Well, in the end, none of it matters."

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Athrun demanded while raising an eyebrow.

"Battles never go the exact way people expect them to so it's not like we won't ever get the chance to have another shot at either the Strike or Wing Zero."

Athrun glared at his teammate upon hearing this. "Dearka I know your upset about what happened to Yzak but that's no reason for you to start becoming reckless beside we don't even know how our machines will perform on Earth or here in the desert."

"So, what? Will fighting here on this pile of dirt really going to be all that different from fighting in space?"

"Considering our forces use different mobile suits in the atmosphere then in space yes!"

"So, what if they do? It's nothing we can't handle."

"Dearka you can't just interfere with the special team's operation because of what happened during our last encounter"

"Yzak was my best friend Athrun!" Dearka retorted stunning the bluenette into silence.

"I know what happened to Yzak was his own fault but does that mean I'm supposed to just forgive the bastard flying around in Wing Zero after he sent him through the atmosphere to fry to death?"

Athrun remained silent unsure of what to say. While the rational thing to do was to simply follow the orders given to him and his team when it came to their personal feelings pertaining to the war and everything that's happened so far were they really supposed to just be satisfied with leaving it to someone else to make the pilot known as Heero Yuy pay for those he killed fighting to protect the Plants? Were things really that simple?

Regardless of whatever the answer was the fact remained chances of the La Cruset team actually taking down Wing Zero were extremely slim and with each fight it's pilot took part in it began to look even less likely, hell there were now even times when Athrun wondered if this Heero Yuy was even human but that aside the simple truth was that as things currently stood all Athrun and the others could do was assist in taking down the legged ship.

"I don't know, how you want to handle Yzak's death is up to you, but for now let's just follow our orders tomorrow to ensure everyone on our side isn't wiped out."

Dearka sighed in defeat. "Alright."

XXXXX

The next day was immediately filled with a high amount of tension and anxiety as everyone manned their stations and readied themselves for one final clash with the Zaft forces in Africa which would determine if they'd be able to leave and continue on to Alaska or die here along with desert dawn forces. They had to be up extra early so that the sun wouldn't be in their eyes which wasn't something anyone protested (Save for Flay even though she wasn't even doing anything to help) since it meant one less disadvantage they had to deal with.

While a lot of the crew members would have liked to have simply placed their faith in Heero for his unbelievable prowess his stunt of leaving Kira to fight the Desert Tiger on his own had shaken their would-be faith in him. Plus, there was the special squad according to Kira and Cagalli was supposed to fight Heero with new mobile suits.

Unless Heero took down the said squad in a short enough period of time the Archangel's crew would simply have to face the rest of the Zaft forces with the desert dawn and simply hope their luck fared better than it had during the previous encounter with the enemy but that wasn't a scenario anyone was particularly comfortable with since they were facing the Desert tiger.

"The enemy showed up." Sai said. "I'm counting four BuCUEs, fifteen choppers, and another mobile suit that's like the BuCUEs but different in the lead one two enemy ships are bringing up the rear with the remaining G weapons on top one of them."

Murrue's eyes narrowed. 'That's it? Where's the special forces squad meant for Heero, was the information about them a lie?'

"Fire at the enemy's main force with the Igelstellung, force them to scatter and use the Gottfrieds to provide cover for the Strike and Skygrasper while they launch." The captain ordered.

XXXXX

Waltfield smirked as the legged ship wasted no time in open firing on Zaft forces. 'So, their trying to immediately seize the upper hand with the first move.'

"Send the order for our mobile suits and choppers to scatter and have the lesseps' replacement return fire on legged ship."

"This machine's really handling well." Said Aisha who sat in the front seat of the Machine she and Andrew who currently piloting known as the LaGOWE.

"Its specs are far above the standard BuCUE so it'll serve us well enough for this fight." Waltfield replied as he spotted the Skygrasper launching from one of the legs of the ship while the other one began to open.

'Will it be the Strike or Wing Zero that launches?'

The Commander didn't have to wait long to find out as the hatch of the EA ship at the end of its leg fully opened revealing a fully prepped Ail Strike which immediately launched out of the ship firing at any BuCUE units in range of its beam rifle as it was falling from the EA ship only managing to graze one of the Zaft units in their side.

Waltfield smiled in anticipation. 'Kid I hope your ready cause this time we're not stopping till one of us is dead.'

With that the LaGOWE raced towards the Strike while its railguns charged up and fired at the Strike which propelled itself into the air avoiding both blasts before attempting to counter with a shot from its own beam rifle only for Andrew to strafe out of the beam's path before Aisha fired the railguns again.

Acting quickly Kira propelled himself to the side avoid the shot before he landed and steadied the Strike before attempting to take aim at Waltfield only for his cockpit's side alarm to go off alerting him to a BuCUE trying to come at him from the side in hopes of cutting the Strike's legs off with its twin beam saber.

In response to the incoming attack Kira once again propelled the Strike into the air aiming his rifle straight down in the process before shooting the enemy unit as it was passing underneath him destroying it outright.

In spite of the loss of one of the men under his command Waltfield couldn't help but feel impressed with Kira's performance. 'It seems like this kid found a little more conviction since our last encounter on the battlefield. I wonder if Heero Yuy's actions from the other day have something to do with it."

As Waltfield charged straight at the Strike whilst Aisha ignited the LaGOWE's twin beam saber. Kira responded by thrusting his shield forward pushing the LaGOWE back before following up with shots from his beam rifle but his attacks were all dodged when Waltfield strafed from one side to the other repeatedly zigzagging while he pulled back whilst Aisha fired the railguns forcing Kira to leap to the side to avoid the beams.

"You're showing potential as a possible top tier pilot but you're gonna have to do better than that if you hope to beat me." Waltfield declared as he raced towards the Strike.

XXXXX

"The Strike's already engaged the enemy Commander and Mu La Flaga is holding his own against Zaft air forces." Miriallia said over the Radio.

"Meaning the ones that need the most help is the Desert Dawn forces." Replied Heero as he waited for the hatch to the Archangel's leg to open.

"That's right they're not fairing much better against the BuCUEs than they did the day before."

'That's hardly surprising.' Heero thought before he replied, "Roger that."

As the hatch to the Archangel opened Heero cut the radio link and faced forward and launched. Quickly scrutinizing the battlefield Heero swiftly discovered that Mirillia's assessment was indeed accurate.

'It looks like Kira took my advice to heart.' The Gundam pilot thought seeing Kira's overall performance had improved. If Kira stayed his current course he'd become a force strong enough to protect his friend with his own hands.

Turning his attention to the Zaft ground forces Heero wasted no time in firing upon the closest BuCUE with his shoulder gun destroying it swiftly before he drew the attention of the other units.

XXXXX

Onboard the Salvation Roland sat inside the cockpit of a GuAIZ simply looking ahead watching for the hatch of the ship to open.

"Once you, Poleg and the other pilots stationed to this ship launch the rest of the squadron will depart from the Lesseps' replacement. You are to link up with them before you engage Wing Zero." Thomason said.

"Roger." Roland replied in monotone voice before cutting the link and watching as the hatched to the Salvation began to open up.

'Heero Yuy, I won't allow you, Lacus Clyne, or anyone from either world to get in the way of the future Keagan dreams of.'

As the hatch completely opened to reveal the outside along with the clash between the Zaft and joint front of the EA and rebels unfolding Roland exhaled before slightly increasing the grip on his machines controls.

"Roland Quinby, GuAIZ launching."

XXXXX

"You're gonna pay for wiping out our comrades you son of a bitch!" One of the BuCUE pilots yelled out in raged before activating their twin beam saber and racing for the Wing Zero.

Heero merely responded to the enemy unit's action by extending the length of his shield and thrusting its sharp end straight into BuCUE head as the unit came into close range and impaled the entire unit on his shield before tossing the remains into an assault chopper.

"Damn you!" The only remaining BuCUE pilot yelled before charging Wing Zero blindly while firing all of its missiles at Heero used his Vulcan's to shoot them all down whilst using his shoulder guns to take out the final BuCUE.

'With all BuCUEs out of commission Mu should have a little more breathing room now that the Desert Dawn can help him.' He thought as he began to aim his buster rifle at a Zaft ship that looked like the previous one he destroyed.

Unfortunately, his attempt was cut short when the cockpit's alarms went off alerting him to an incoming attack. He quickly turned to his right and raised his shield to block a pair of amber colored beam claws protruding from the end of a shield.

The offensive shield in question belonged a new Zaft model that for the looks of it adopted the characteristics of the fake Gundams. The Mobile suit in question was primarily green in color through it was a visibly lighter shade than what the GINN had. The mobile suit's armor was somewhat more elaborate with a thinner chest area with one vent on each side was well as more thrusters in its wings and back of the legs. The Suit like other Zaft models had a mono eye sensor behind a black tinted visor along with a FINN like sensor sticking out the back of its head.

In terms of Armaments along with the composite shield on its left arm its right hand held what appeared to be a beam rifle. Mounted on both sides of its waist were two extensional arrestors shaped like pincers and mounted in either side of its head were a pair of CIWs.

"I won't allow to you to hinder Roland's goals any longer." The pilot of the other machine declared as a window appeared on Heero's main monitor revealing a boy around his age with black hair and red eyes.

"If you're with Roland then I'm going to kill you here and now." Heero replied before attempting to use his shoulder guns only for the enemy unit to pull away before Heero could shoot at him and followed up via retaliating with his beam rifle forcing Heero to climb before he returned fire with his buster rifle forcing the other pilot to dodge before they were contacted by the Heero's initial target.

"Otto don't be reckless. If you're killed we'd have been down one unit and even that could be enough to jeopardize this."

"True but if Wing Zero is allowed to shoot down the other half of our squadron our mission may fail all together before it even begins."

Hearing this caused Heero to raised eyebrow ever so slightly before glancing in the direction of the Lesseps' replacement to discover what Otto had meant and discovered a group of mobile suits identical to the one Otto and Roland were piloting were exiting the ship and forming up with other identical units that came from the Nazca likely getting ready to engage Heero.

Realizing this Heero immediately took aim at group and increased the amount of power his rifle was currently set at with the intent of destroying the entire squadron along with the Lesseps, replacement.

Seeing the Gundam pilot's actions Otto's eyes narrowed.

'Not today.'

Before the Gundam pilot could fire his rifle, Otto Poleg engaged his thrusters at full speed and attempted to stab Wing Zero through the cockpit with his beam claws only for Heero to pull away before delivering a hard kick to the GuAIZ's chest pushing it back while lowering the buster rifle's output back down before firing at Poleg destroying his mobile suit's left arm along with its offensive shield before following up by attaching his buster rifle to Wing Zero's shield and preforming a quick draw with his beam saber slashing Poleg's GuAIZ across the chest before raising his beam saber overhead for a vertical swing intended to slice Poleg's suit down the middle from the head down to the crotch.

Seeing what was about happen Poleg closed his eyes and waited for the end. 'Roland forgive me but this is all I could do to support your goals of making the world Keagan envisions a reality.'

Heero's effort was impeded when Roland delivered a flying kick to Wing Zero's head forcing it back then activated his own Beam claws to try and skewer Wing Zero only for it to block the attack and push Roland back in the process via a shield swipe.

Roland attempted to counter his extensional arrestors but Heero pulled back until he was just out of their range.

"Otto pull back." Ronald ordered.

"But I can still fight."

"With your machine's current condition, you're too much of a vulnerable of a target."

"Roland please don't send me away!" Otto exclaimed whilst Roland and Heero circled around each other trading fire with Beam rifle and shoulder guns.

"Otto, you have to realize that the risk your taking if you choose to continue to fight is extremely high."

"That may be but even so I still want to help in this fight any way I can."

Roland was unable to bring himself to reply as he and Heero flew towards one another locking Beam Saber and claws.

"Just as the reason you fight is to be the pillar that supports Keagan's dreams mine is to support whatever path you decide to take." Otto announced before firing at Wing Zero with his beam rifle forcing Heero to evade.

"If that's what you truly want I'll accept your request but please don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Right."

Heero gritted his teeth in frustration as the fight dragged on. He had hoped to shoot down Roland swiftly and mop up any other remaining Zaft forces ASAP so he could end his arrangement with the Archangel's crew and head for the Plants to dispose of Keagan and from there figure out how to end the war for the sake of keeping his promise to Lacus Clyne to help her bring the conflict between the Earth and Plants to an end. As irrational as the last part was there was still something making Heero want to keep his word to the songstress, whatever it was Heero at the very least decided to listen to what it compelled him to do since there was probably no sense in going against it especially when the Star Tear Lacus was interested in was currently stored in the room aboard the Archangel he was staying.

Unfortunately, swift completion of his mission to kill Roland in a minimal amount of time was proving to be rather difficult since the young Zaft red was proving to be a higher tier opponent with skills above anyone else from the Cosmic Era that Heero faced so far since their last battle.

Now that Roland had an idea of what he was up against and had a better mobile suit he was doing a much better job of holding his own against Heero.

The Gundam pilot was about to fire his shoulder guns until he looked at his radar and found a sight he really didn't care for at the moment. The rest of the GuIAZes had formed up and were now headed his way.

"This is where you go down Wing Zero. Try not to lose to us too quickly!" One of the pilots announced arrogantly much to Roland's annoyance.

With how the rest of the squad was acting their training was likely going to prove to be for nothing. They might have gone through a good amount of simulations giving them an idea of what they were up against making them better prepared compared to other Zaft soldiers but their overconfidence was going to cost them dearly.

XXXXX

On top of the Lesseps' replacement the tree G weapon pilots watched on since they currently couldn't do much else.

Athrun watched as Kira and the Zaft Commander fought against each other, neither opponent was able to truly get any real edge over the other which was enough to keep him sitting on pins and needles as anxiety kept hold of him. One other factor he noticed was that Kira seemed to have visibly improved since the last time they encountered each other which gave him some hope that his childhood friend would somehow survive.

'Kira, you need to come to your senses and come back with me to the Plants, you don't belong on the Earth forces side.'

Nicol was watching the entirety of the fight.

When the fighting first started he was initially confused when Wing Zero didn't immediately appear from the start. When it did launch Nicol had hoped against all odds the BuCUEs would be able to take it down. It only gave him dismay when they fared no better than to any of the GINNs the faced Wing Zero, Yzak or the Commander Rau LA Cruset, of the La Cruset team as a whole. His hopes became restored when the squadron of GuAIZes took to the field and hoped they'd at least fare much better than any of Wing Zero's previous opponents but like Athrun, he was soon sitting on pins and needles when a few GuAIZes were destroyed almost immediately.

'If these guys can't take that suit down I'm not sure what possibly can.'

Dearka was watching Wing Zero I contempt not liking the fact that he was forced to leave the task of destroying it in someone else's hands but hoped for the special forces squadron success since it would at least mean that the bastard piloting the suit who gave his deceased friend an end where he mine as well have been put through a microwave. His anger only deepened when Wing Zero began picking he GuAIZes off shocking the pilots of the squadron.

'Are you fucking kidding me?! These guys are supposed to be specially trained to take this asshole down and this is all they got?!' The Zaft red thought as he combined both of his guns into the sniper rifle and took aim at Wing Zero.

'If that knockoff squadron can't take this guy down I will!'

XXXXX

"Please stop this already. Otherwise I'll have to kill you!" Exclaimed Kira as he fired his CIWs at the LaGOWE which evaded the line of fire before retaliating with its railguns which Kira was forced to dodge.

"I'm not stopping till one of us is dead!" With that declaration Waltfield raced for the Strike in hopes of running it through the cockpit with the twin saber but Kira responded by pulling to the side as the LaGOWE leaped into the air at him before another shot with his beam rifle managing to hit one of the barrels of the LaGOWE's railgun melting it.

"That kid managed to take out one of our gun barrels." Aisha pointed out.

"The other one still working?"

Aisha fired a shot at the Strike which leaped out of the way before smirking. "It seems so."

"Then we're not out of the game just yet." Waltfield said before making another beeline for the Strike attempting another melee attack which Kira avoided via pulling back before Aisha fired the railgun (From the remaining barrel that was still intact) which the Strike was forced to block with its shield whilst Waltfield went in for another saber attack however he had a different target this time as he leapt into the air with the LaGOWE.

'An eye for an eye.'

Kira's widened as the LaGOWE's saber cut through his beam rifle destroying it in the process depriving him of his mid-range weapon. Acting quickly Kira drew his beam saber and dashed at the LaGOWE which also came towards him with its own close quarters weapon at the ready.

Both machines slammed their respective weapons into each other resulting in the Strike staggering but maintaining its balance whilst Waltfield was pushed back before strafing to the side and circling around the Strike before Aisha fired the railgun forcing Kira to block the shot with his shield.

Waltfield then tried to move in for a killing blow but Kira was quick to counter the attempt via firing his CIWs at the LaGOWE not only forcing it to back off but also pelting it with enough bullets to render the Railgun completely useless on top of doing considerable damage to the Zaft Machine overall.

'Damn this is starting to look bad.' Waltfield thought as he saw some of his control panels starting to spark before glancing in the direction Wing Zero was fighting the GuAIZ team and noticed one of the units was doing a considerably better job of holding its own against the enigmatic suit than the rest of its team.

'That Roland kid's probably piloting that GuAIZ. If so then Thomason wasn't bluffing about his skill.'

"Not that it matters since I got my own fight to worry about." With that Waltfield made another beeline for the Strike much to Kira's dismay.

"How far do you plan to take this? Don't you see you've already lost?"

"I'm not done yet and I just told you that I have no intention of stopping until one of us is dead." The Zaft commander replied as he closed the distance between himself and the Strike.

'Dammit!' Acting quickly Kira raised the Strike's leg kneeing the LaGOWE's head with enough force the decapitate the Zaft machine before dashing past it using his beam saber to tear into the LaGOWE's side making a deep gash.

Turning around Kira saw the what was left of the Zaft machine was simply standing in place as various parts of its body sparked and short circuited.

Sighing Kira simply turned his attention to the rest of the battle before deciding to assist Mu La Flaga and the Desert Dawn with the remainder of the assault choppers.

'If you just surrendered it wouldn't have had to end this way.'

Back inside the LaGOWE Waltfield was embracing Aisha for the last time before the LaGOWE unavoidable explosion which would undoubtedly take both of their lives.

Whatever happened throughout the remainder of the fight was anyone's guess as far as the Zaft Commander was concerned at this point but at the very least if things went too far south which they likely would DaCosta would have whatever was left of the Zaft forces retreat.

XXXXX

"How the fuck is this happening!?" One of the GuAIZ pilots roared in blind furry whilst trying to rush Wing Zero with its beam claws while it was locked in close quarters combat with Roland who was duel wielding with his own beam claws and violet colored beam saber in the other hand where the Beam rifle was normally held.

Heero simply pushed Roland away with a swipe of his shield before spinning around to parry the blow by the other pilot and following up with his shoulder gun which the GuAIZ evaded.

'These guys learned from their mistake of overrating themselves I'll give em that.' Heero thought as he weaved through beam fire from three other GuAIZ including Otto's before firing at them with his buster rifle forcing them to scatter giving a bit of breathing room before Roland came at him again.

When the fight first started the members of the squadron Heero was facing were cocky and overconfident not unlike the Duel's pilot bragging about how easily they believed would take him down (Though they weren't ranting on about Coordinator superiority.) but that belief was quickly proven wrong when the bolder pilots amongst them began throwing themselves at Heero blindly only to discover things didn't play out like the simulation training predicted at all before they were shot down. As a result, the Squadron was reduced from fifteen to seven before they started taking their mission seriously and acting with much more caution.

Raising his shield to block a swing from Roland's beam saber Heero followed up locking his own beam saber with Roland's beam claws. Roland attempted to utilize his CIWs in hopes of doing enough damage to Wing Zero's head to render its main camera useless, unfortunately due to the extreme endurance of Gundanium alloy the CIWs proved to be ineffective only serving to give Heero an opening to deliver a kick to the GuAIZ's abdominal area sending it flying backwards a few meters.

Much to Gundam pilot's surprise Roland managed a swift counter attack launching both extensional arrestors at Wing Zero cockpit. Heero ultimately blocked the attacks his with shield but with only a second to spare.

'Had I been even a slightest moment later to react that would have ended a lot less favorably.' Heero thought as he used his Vulcans to keep Roland at bay. 'I can't afford to let you retreat, if I don't kill you now you'll only become that much more of a threat to my world.'

It went without saying that unlike the rest of his squadron and nearly everyone else Heero had faced since he had initially arrived Roland was no fool. He was well aware of disadvantages he was currently being faced with and sought to use whatever tactics that had a chance of level the playing field to his advantage if his attempt at destroying Heero's main camera was anything to go by plus he wasn't leaving blatant openings within the group or as an individual.

Overall the pilot known as Roland Quinby was showing every bit of the potential of becoming a serious threat that Heero had anticipated back during their first encounter. If he was allowed to improve enough and obtain a mobile that surpassed any mass production unit or the level of the fake Gundams Roland could very well become someone who could truly match the perfect soldier.

Heero climbed avoiding a pincer attack by two other GuAIZes using their beam claws. Before Heero could make any attempt at a counter attack Otto began to fire at him with his beam rifle forcing Heero to take further evasive actions but much to the Gundam pilot's frustration Roland decided to make another attempt to end the fight in a single blow with his extensional arrestors forcing Heero to block them with his shield.

Clicking his tongue Heero as he came to the realization that as things stood the chances of his success with his current mission were decreasing, while he wasn't losing he also was no longer winning and a stalemate was no good. Now that the special forces squadron were using organized tactics instead of just throwing caution to the wind due to misguided confidence the Gundam pilot was starting to have a hard time of it.

'It looks like I'm gonna have to utilize some of Zero's real potential.' Heero thought as he ready himself to activate the feature that set Wing Zero apart from all other Mobile suits suit including the other Gundams and essentially made Wing Zero the ultimate weapon.

However, before Heero could carry out what he was planning to do a yellow blast soared towards him from the direction of the Lesseps' replacement nearly hitting a few GuAIZes which were quick enough to dodge the blast before Heero blocked it with his shield.

Zooming in with a side camera Heero quickly discovered the shot had come from none other the fake Gundam known as the Buster atop the Lesseps' replacement.

'This is the last thing I need.' Heero thought before one of the GuAIZ pilot spoke up.

"Where the hell did that blast come from?!"

"It came from the Buster." Another pilot answered another GuAIZ pilot.

"Are you kidding me? That fucking has-been is trying to butt in!?"

"From the looks of it yes." A third pilot replied.

It was then another blast came from the Buster's sniper rifle aimed at Wing Zero but some of the GuAIZes were in the line of fire forcing them to take evasive action along with Heero.

"Is that son of a bitch trying to shoot us as well?" The first pilot asked

"Probably not intentionally, but he's not taking our positions into consideration when he fires. If I had to guess he's probably trying to take out Wing Zero and doesn't care if he shoots any of us down in the process." The third pilot answered.

"So that little shit thinks he's not only gonna stick his nose into our business but open fire on us too." The first pilot's eyes narrowed before he continued.

"In that case I'm gonna teach that piss ant a lesson before I end him." With that the first pilot took off in the direction of the La Cruset team.

"Right behind you." The second pilot said before following after the first pilot.

The third pilot sighed seeing how his teammates action were jeopardizing the mission but decided dealing with the Buster before its interference completely screwed up the mission was in everyone's best interest. While the Zaft council wouldn't be happy about the destruction of one of the G weapons stolen from Heliopolis the fact remained that it (albeit inadvertently) fired the first shot so the GuAIZ squadron's actions would ultimately be deemed in act of self-defense and therefore justified by law and the loss of Buster would be simple enough for Zaft to compensate for.

"Roland I'm sorry but we're gonna deal with the Buster since it decided to interfere with our mission and endanger us in the process."

"Roger that, hurry up and shoot them down, the faster their interference is taken out of the equation of this fight the better." Roland replied much to the pilot's surprise.

They were expecting Roland to at least voice some protest since the action the three GuAIZ pilots were about to take meant splitting what remained of the squadron even thinner than it already was making Wing Zero that much harder to deal with but then again if the Buster's actions were anything to by its pilot was more of a liability than an asset(Through they were never really the latter to begin with) so it wasn't hard for anyone looking at the entire pitcher to see that the Buster's swift elimination was the most pragmatistic step to take.

'On second thought this might just play to my advantage.' Heero thought as he watched everything playout whist dodging another blast from the Buster's sniper rifle that he easily evaded before the fake Gundam leapt off the ship. 'It looks like I might not need to use the Zero system after all.'

XXXXX

"Dearka what the hell are you doing?!" Athrun demanded as landed next to the Buster which was struggling to remain standing only to discover that the Aegis didn't fare any better in the sand.

'Dammit I was afraid of this; these machines aren't suited for the desert.' Athrun thought as he quickly began adjusting the Aegis' OS to better perform in the desert.

"What do you think I'm doing? Taking out the Wing Zero!"

"Dealing with Wing Zero is the squadron's job and both of the shots from your sniper rifle almost hit some of them!"

"So what? They're failing miserably and already had half of their team wiped out and if my shots do hit them it's their fault for not getting out of the way." Dearka said as he struggled to gain stable footing.

Once Athrun's adjustments to the Aegis' OS were complete he found he was able to properly stand without the worry of sliding in the sand.

"You can't just decide start getting involved of your own accord, you're making the squadron's job harder than it already is."

"Why should that matter when their losing!?" Dearka retort as he managed to take aim at Wing Zero again.

"Since they can't take down Wing Zero I will."

"Dearka stop!" Athrun exclaimed before the Buster fired shot which was easily avoided by anyone in its path.

"Athrun we have three units heading our way." Nicol's voice suddenly said over the radio.

"What!" Athrun said before he noticed three GuAIZes that were currently headed in his team's general location with their rifles aimed at the G weapons or rather at the Buster.

The Zaft red was confused by the units' actions at first until he remembered how Dearka almost shot them not once but twice and his stomach felt as if it turned to ice.

Acting as swiftly as he possibly could Athrun scrambled to switched his radio to an open channel.

"Please wait, we're all on the same side, the enemy is Wing Zero!"

"That didn't stop your teammate from firing on us, since he wants to act like a hostile we're gonna treat him like one and end him!" One of the GuAIZ pilots said as they continued to get closer.

"Stop." Athrun yelled as he took aim at the GuIAZ pilots with his beam rifle and fired in their general direction hoping to stop their advance.

"So, you're picking sides with your traitorous friend huh? Then you can die along with him."

"Will you please listen for five seconds?!"

"Not after you fired on us!"

"I wasn't trying to shoot you down!"

"The hell you weren't!"

Athrun growled in frustration as the closest GuAIZ pilot closed in and ignited their beam claws forcing Athrun to propel the Aegis backwards to avoid their attack, while his actions were easily being interpreted as hostile for understandable reasons Athrun wasn't actually trying to hit them he simply wanted their attention in hopes of convincing them Dearka wasn't the enemy.

Unfortunately, all he succeeded in doing was getting the GuAIZ pilots to see him as an enemy along with Dearka who was the next to speak up.

"I wasn't aiming for any of you. You're were just in the way of my shot."

"You got no business butting into our mission!"

"A mission you're doing a shit job at performing." Dearka retorted before he was fired at by another GuAIZ forcing him to propel the Buster backwards in order to avoid being hit.

"If that how you wanna do things." Dearka muttered to himself before regain less than stable balance in the sand before he took aim.

"Then I'll shoot you down first!" Dearka announced first before released a long beam at the GuAIZ targeting him only for it to avoid the attack with complete ease whilst the Buster lost it balance due to the rifle's recoil causing the G weapon to fall on its back.

The GuAIZ meanwhile had activated its beam claws and began heading for the Buster at full speed.

'Like hell I'm letting that happen.!' Dearka thought as he fired all the missiles from is machine's shoulder silos which forced the GuAIZ to stop dead in its tracks and rapidly climb while the projectiles followed suit and gave chase.

The Zaft red pilot smirked thinking he had won against his current opponent until the GuAIZ pilot utilized their CIWs and began shooting the missiles down one after another before blocking the final one with its shield.

'Are you kidding me!?' Dearka thought as he watched the entire thing play out. It didn't help matters when the GuAIZ before racing towards him again intending to skewer the Buster.

The Zaft red became wide eyed as his situation dawned on him. The buster was still on its back so avoiding the attack was out of the question and shooting the approaching enemy also was not much of an option since Dearka wouldn't be able to stand and take aim in time and both of his shoulder silos were now empty meaning he was essentially hopeless.

'Dammit am I really going to die here!?'

It was then that by some miracle that fate decided to save him in the form of the Aegis intercepting the GuAIZ and locking one of its arm mounted beam sabers with the GuAIZ's beam claws before kicking the unit away and evading a shot from the GuAIZ that initially targeted the Argid itself.

The third assaulting GuAIZ decided to take aim at the downed Buster before being forced to dodge a lancer dart from the Blitz.

"Dammit will you guys please stop this? We shouldn't be fighting each other like this!" Athrun pleaded.

"Then stand aside and stop protecting the Buster." One of the GuAIZ pilots retorted whilst firing at the Aegis with their beam rifle."

It was then Nicol finally decided to speak up. "Athrun I don't think these guys are interested in anything you have to say. As much as I hate to admit the only thing we can fight them if we don't want to lose any more of our team."

Athrun growled in frustration but ultimately conceded to Nicol's point.

XXXXX

DaCosta was more than a little frustrated with how the battle had progressed. To say anything that could go wrong did go wrong did go wrong was nothing short of an understatement.

Not only did all the BuCUEs get wiped out almost immediately but the special squadron had all but botched their mission to capture or destroy Wing Zero. When they initially underestimated it, which resulted in half of their numbers being wiped out disturbingly quick but when they finally got their act to together and began using coordinated tactics to turn the odds more into their favor until the pilot of Buster had to butt in.

When Waltfield was initially informed that the La Cruset team was coming to assist him in bringing down the legged ship the Commander expressed his doubts stating that he believed they'd only be a hinderance due to the fact that they never fought in atmosphere let alone in the desert and had them stationed on top of the Lessep's replacement to keep them from doing so.

As fate would have not only were they now getting in the way like Commander anticipated but they were completely screwing everything up and helping the enemy more so than any Zaft solider.

To top that all off the Commander had been defeated by the Strike which was now helping the EA mobile armor and rebels fight the assault choppers that were initially deployed which were losing ground and fast.

"Sir the Commander is dead. Should we retreat?" Inquired one of the officers.

"Not yet deploy the all the assault choppers in reserve and keep up the fire on the legged ship."

While his orders were carried out DaCosta sighed.

'At this rate we're gonna have no choice but to retreat since facing Wing Zero directly is akin to suicide. This fight's over the moment the special forces squad is defeated.'

While DaCosta may not have voiced his thoughts out loud he was more than a little certain that everyone on the ship was aware that only thing that was keeping Zaft forces in the fight was the efforts of the GuAIZ pilot duel wielding a beam saber and Beam claws but in all honesty DaCosta nor anyone else could be certain how much longer that pilot would last, all they could hope to do was take out the legged ship before the battle became a complete no-win situation.

XXXXX

"I won't allow you interfere with Keagan's goals." Roland declared as he swung his beam saber at Wing Zero only for Heero to parry the blow.

"And I don't intend on letting Keagan threaten the peace of my world." The Gundam pilot rebutted before making an overhead swing that Roland blocked with his shield before launching both extensional arrestors at Heero forcing him to pull back and following up via closing the distance between the two of them and making a horizontal swing with his beam saber which Heero parried.

"Roland I'm going to kill both you and Keagan and put an end to whatever you guys are planning." The Gundam pilot announced as he avoided shots from Poleg before retaliating with his Buster rifle forcing the Zaft red to take evasive action giving him breathing room to dodge a pincer attack from the only other two remaining GuAIZ pilots still fighting him before countering with his shoulder guns taking out one of the units.

The GuAIZ pilot that had been spared from Heero's counter attack became blinded by rage and tried to utilize their extensional arrestors. Unfortunately for the Zaft soldier they soon discover the hip mount armaments were extremely hard to use and the attack lacked the precision the Roland had allowing Heero to dodge them with relative ease and sever both claw heads.

"Dammit! Why won't you just die already?!" The pilot yelled firing blindly at Wing Zero with their beam rifle before Heero retaliated with a quick shot from his buster rifle destroying the unit.

Roland charged at Wing Zero bringing his beam saber down which was blocked by Heero's own.

"I told you before I won't let you interfere with Keagan's ideals." The Zaft red declared while bringing his beam claws around only for them to be blocked by Heero's shield.

"And I made it perfectly clear that I'm not gonna let you threaten the peace of my world." Heero retorted.

Roland raised his machine's leg and delivered a swift kick to Wing Zero's abdomen pushing it back before being met with retaliation from Heero shoulder guns which he promptly evaded.

"It's not that Keagan means your world harm it's just holds the possibility of a new direction for the Cosmic Era that Keagan seeks."

"If that's seriously the case then it's the more reason he needs to die."

Roland's eyes narrowed. "If you intend to lay even a single finger on Keagan….."

Roland's vision suddenly went complete black for what seemed like the longest time before an image of a seed the same color as his eyes appeared in front of slowly following down into an endless abyss.

Just when the seed in question was getting close to the bottom of Roland's line of sight ripples much like those seen in water whenever something triggered movement along its surface suddenly appeared before the seed burst into numerous particles of light leaving Roland feeling oddly calm and more aware than ever of everything around him.

"Then I'm going to kill you."

XXXXX

"That's another one down." Mu said has he used the impulse cannon from the launcher pack of the Strike which was currently attached to the bottom of the Skygrasper to take down another assault chopper down.

While he was having a hard time of it in the beginning since the enemy had numbers on their side he had since then gained much more breathing room thanks to Heero taking out all of the BuCUEs allowing the desert dawn to help him out.

However as grateful as the mobile armor pilot was he also downright confused. For reasons that were beyond him it looked as through the Zaft chain of command had not simply fell apart but even their sense of loyalty went out the window.

The stolen G weapons were now fighting with some of the special forces units meant to fight Heero which had to have caused a lot of disorder amongst the enemy force but in spite of that they still weren't retreating.

What was more surprising was that one of the new units was somehow managing to all but single handedly hold their own against Heero with only one unit with its arm missing helping out. Mu had to admit whoever was currently fighting Heero was one lethal force not to be reckoned with and the suit they and the rest of the group were piloting were no slouches either but that was probably to be expected since they adopted the technology of the G weapons built on Heliopolis.

'Probably shouldn't be too surprising, Zaft always had us beat in terms of weaponry.'

XXXXX

"Captain Zaft forces are fighting amongst themselves!" Sai announced.

"This isn't the time to be making jokes." Murrue shot back not believing him.

"No, they really are." Another officer announced.

"What!? Show me." Murrue ordered before she and everyone on the Archangel's bridge were shown camera feed proving that what Sai had initially informed the Captain of was indeed the truth.

The stolen weapons were fighting with the unknown mobile suits that were meant to combat Heero.

"Captain we should fire on all of them and take them all out in one sweep." Natarle suggested.

"No, we'll let them wipe each out for now let's just focus our attention on the Zaft ships."

XXXXX

On board the Nazca class ship known as the salvation Thomason Stone grunted in annoyance. First the pilots under Roland's command all but botched everything up when they underestimated Wing Zero and got their numbers cut in half but that wasn't anything outside the realm of expectation with how cocky most of the pilots were even before the mission started.

But after they finally got their act together and were make slow but sure progress against the Wing Zero and its pilot known has Heero Yuy one of the failures from the La Cruset team had to screw up everything. Stone had half a mind to order the Salvation to fire on the weapons and destroy the La Cruset team but since it could potentially weave further disorder amongst Zaft force as a whole he refrained from doing so.

Now Roland and Otto were facing Wing Zero alone. Still hope wasn't completely gone as Roland Quinby's prestigious skill with a mobile suit combined with the performance of the GuAIZ was more than allowing him to simply hang in there.

'Roland this mission now depends on you but retreat if you must.'

XXXXX

"Dearka adjust your machine's OS so it can stand in the sand." Athrun said has he traded rifle fire with one of the GUAIZes before it launched its arrestors at him.

He blocked one of them with his shield whilst using one of the beam sabers in the Aegis' feet to cut the cable to the other one which connected it to the GuAIZ's skirt armor.

"You're gonna pay for that!" With that the GuAIZ pilot ignited their beam claws and made mad dash for the Aegis.

Athrun growled in frustration. 'How the hell did things turn out like this? The real enemy is the Naturals!'

While Athrun really didn't want fight fellow members Zaft he really didn't have much of a choice at point in fact the situation had essentially degraded to the point that it was simply either fight to defend his own life or be killed by his own countrymen since their rage at Dearka's actions had pushed beyond the point of reason.

Has the GuAIZ continued its approach Athrun changed the Aegis into its Mobile Armor form and raced towards the GuAIZ pilot confusing them until he opened the Aegis' claw and clamped down on the machine.

"This is your last chance, stand down and stop attacking our team."

"Go to hell!" The other pilot spat as they began to struggle to break free from the Aegis' grip.

'Dammit!'

With great reluctance Athrun pressed down on the trigger for the Aegis Scylla cannon causing it to fire and destroy the GuAIZ in its entirety.

"Athrun should we really be doing this?!" Asked Nicol who had already adjusted his machine's OS and fired a lancer dart at one of the remaining two GuAIZes still attacking the La Cruset team.

"I don't want this any more than you but it's like just like you said nothing we can say will ever get through to them so at this point all we really do is fight to defend ourselves."

"Right."

'Father's gonna be pissed if this infighting causes the entire mission to fall apart.'

Meanwhile Dearka had finally finished making the needed adjustments to his machine's OS was now ignoring the GuAIZes attacking his teammates and focused his attention on Wing Zero.

'Time for you to pay for what you did to Yzak!'

XXXXX

"Will you guys just retreat already? You already lost!" Kira exclaimed as he used his CIWs to shoot down an assault chopper before blocking missile fire from another one with his shield.

To say Kira was frustrated might have been putting it lightly at this point. He was displeased enough with being forced to kill the Zaft Commander, being forced to take even more lives really didn't do his consciousness any good but Zaft forces were still insisting fighting.

The Coordinator pilot really had to wonder why the enemy wouldn't give up. With everything that had happened throughout the fight it should have been obvious they were going to lose no matter what. Didn't they value their lives, did they have something to prove that was worth dying a senseless death?

'Whatever the reason.' Kira thought as he propelled himself into the air to cut into the bottom of an assault chopper with a Schneider knife that he since switched to from his beam saber for the sake of conserving power to the battery.

'I won't let them hurt my friends or anyone on the ship. Athrun please get out of here before I'm forced to shoot you down.'

XXXXX

'This is gonna be tougher than I initially thought.' Heero silently mused in his mind as he parried a strike from Roland's beam saber before pulling out of range of his extensional arrestors as they were launched at him.

The Gundam pilot tried to counter with his Vulcans but Ronald block them with his shield before closing the distance between the two while swinging his beam saber overhead which Heero blocked with his beam saber.

'This is just like with Kira.' Heero though referring to the sudden burst in prowess Kira shown during his first skirmish with the Zaft Commander. Like the Strike's pilot Roland's skill suddenly spiked to another level where his movements were much more fluid, precise, and focused.

What made this all so alarming was the fact that Roland was not only holding his own with essentially no help since his movements had become so unpredictable and fast that Otto couldn't afford to take any more shots at Wing Zero without running the risk of getting in Roland's way and in turn make things harder for him which was the absolutely last thing he needed.

Heero was forced to pull back when Roland made a horizontal swing with his beam claws narrowly avoiding being ran through by mere inches.

Before Heero could attempted any type of counter or Roland could further press his assault the former was forced to avoid a long and annoyingly familiar yellow beam that unsurprisingly came from the Buster which was leaping in their general direction.

Heero was about to blast the fake Gundam to hell with his rifle but Otto beat him to the punch when he shot the Buster square in its chest whilst dashing straight for it shooting at it continuously.

"Roland I'll take care of the Buster you just focus on defeating Zero."

Roland didn't bother with any reply and simply turned his attention to Heero who took the opportunity to create some distance between himself and Roland before putting away his beam saber, detaching his rifle from his shield and firing at Roland who evaded the attack before trying to charge Wing Zero only for Heero to release a burst of bullets from his shoulder guns which forced Roland to halt his approach.

'If you won't let me get close, we'll do this your way.' Roland thought before mounting his beam saber behind his shield and pulling out his own rifle from the back of his machine's waist.

Before he began exchanging fire with the Gundam pilot.

XXXXX

"You son of a bitch!" Screamed a GuAIZ pilot whose machine was missing its right arm as they raced towards the Aegis swinging their beam claws at it only for the G weapon to duck under the blow before bringing up its arm mounted beam saber and cutting through the unit destroying it.

Athrun quickly scrutinized the overall situation and discovered Nicol was locking in a fierce fight with the only remaining GuAIZ that was attacking the La Cruset team but holding his.

Turning to where Dearka was Athrun soon found his teammate was caught in another fight this time with the GuAIZ that had lost its arm and received damage to its chest from Wing Zero.

If that alone wasn't enough to further sour Athrun's spirits then the fact the Dearka was on the losing end of the fight which was made apparent by the hole in the Buster's chest and when a shot for the GuAIZ's rifle grazed the side of Dearka sniper rifle rending it useless.

'Dearka will you please stop making things go from bad to worst!?'

Quickly switching the Aegis to its MA form Athrun used to cruise mode to get in between the Buster and its opponent before switching the Aegis back to its MS form firing on the GuAIZ with his rifle forcing it to evade before he was met with retaliation from its arrestors which Athrun which was barely able block with his shield before he was force to take even more evasive actions as the GuAIZ fired at him with its beam rifle.

"Please we shouldn't be fighting each other like this we're on the same side, aren't we?!" Athrun pleaded even though he already knew it was futile.

"We were until you fired on us and interfered with Roland's mission." Otto Replied before shooting Athrun's rifle destroying it before following up launching one of his arrestors and using it the sever the Aegis' arm which was originally holding the rifle off at the shoulder.

The Zaft red grunted in frustration before he threw his shield at Otto who simply kicked it aside before firing at the Aegis with his rifle forcing Athrun to leap back and change to his unit's MA form to quickly get out of range of Otto's rifle before swing the Aegis around to try and fire the Scylla cannon.

To the Blunette's dismay Otto had no problem evading the blast from the Aegis while closing the distance between them that Athrun had just created before launching both extensional arrestors.

By some miracle Athrun had managed to switch back to his MS mode and leapt back to avoid taking fatal damage however one of the pincer heads head managed to hit the side of the Aegis, chest tear out a chunk of the armor and leaving a visible hole exposing wires and inner mechanical parts.

Matters only became worse for Athrun when Otto took aim at the new gap in the Aegis' armor he made with his rifle and readied himself to fire.

'Am I really going to die here?!'

That was all Athrun could think as the Otto was about to pressed his thumb down on the button of his arm control that acted as the trigger for the GuAIZ's rifle. Seeing that his end ws near Athrun closed his eyes and was about to wait of the end until…..

"Athrun!" A familiar but unexpected voice called out over the radio for the Strike launched itself into the air at Otto before ramming its shield into the side of his unit pushing him aside.

The Zaft red could only stare wide eyed at the spectacle before him as the Strike landed in front of him facing Otto with a Schneider knife at the ready.

"Ki-Kira, what are you doing?!" Athrun demanded.

"Saving you. I know we're on opposite sides right now but I still consider you a close friend and I don't want you to die here."

Athrun was left speechless and unsure of what to say. After all the times Kira refused to come back with him back to the Plants a part of Athrun began to doubt that Kira was any longer the kind heart and naive friend he knew from so long ago.

"Athrun I don't know you're fighting you own teammates but for now can we put our differences aside to defeat this guy."

All Athrun could initially manage was a silent wide-eyed stare after Kira surprised him with such a proposal. While under normal circumstances Athrun wouldn't even consider taking such an offer at the very moment he just wanted to save his two remaining team members of which really pushing their luck way too much as they persisted in trying to in get in the middle of a battle between two opponents were a vastly more powerful.

"Alright."

XXXXX

"Arrrgggg the sniper rifle's no good!" Dearka spat as he punched the main monitor in rage in response to his weapons failure to fire any longer.

Watching the battle between Wing Zero and the only GuAIZ only served further irritate he Zaft red. While it looked as if the GuAIZ had somewhat turned the tables against Wing Zero on is own that wasn't good enough for Dearka, he wanted more absolute insurance that the pilot responsible for killing his best friend.

Bringing up a panel that display a diagram of the overall condition of his suit and armaments Dearka soon discovered it was just the High energy rifle that was damaged but his gun launcher was still in working condition.

"It's not much but it'll have to do." Dearka mused as he split the weapons apart and began heading to where Heero and Roland were.

"Time for Wing Zero to pay."

XXXXX

An amber color beam soared through the air right at Roland's GuAIZ before he simple maneuvered out of its path as he closed in on Wing Zero firing a couple of shots from his rifle in the process.

Heero dodge most of the shots save for one he had to block with his shield Heero then attempted to utilize his shoulder gun but much to the Gundam pilots shock Roland was to only well prepared to avoid being hit by any of the bullets but he also had an unanticipated counter up his sleeve when he used his CIWs.

This time he didn't try aim for any of Wing Zero's overall body since it armor was far too strong to be damaged by any physical weapon Zaft could deploy aside from missiles and instead shot right at the left shoulder gun itself essentially disabling it while avoid bullets from the other and sending out his extensional arrestors which Heero had to pull out of range of.

'You actually inflicted damage after gaining the upper hand. I got to hand to you I'm impressed that you actually pushed me this far.' Heero thought as he began to finally start utilizing the Zero system for the first time since he came to the Comic Era.

'And you're the second person I've ever used the Zero system against in a one on one fight.'

Soon Heero felt his conciseness expand well beyond the human limits as every possibly scenario was shown to him as he looked for which possible future he wanted to aim for.

As Roland flew full speed at Wing Zero bringing its now active beam claws around Heero ducked under the incoming blow and followed up via spaying Roland with the remaining shoulder gun.

Roland managed to bring his shield in front of himself in order to keep his suit from being shredded to pieces however it came at the cost of moderate damage to the shield itself but luckily his beam claws were still functioning after the fact though he doubted his shield could endure another spray.

Roland was about to make another dash for Wing Zero but before he could even try Heero fired at him with his Buster rifle which he had to evade before another spray of bullets came from the Gundam's remaining shoulder gun.

'Shit!' Roland somehow managed to dodged it enough to avoid major damage however the right leg of his machine was pierced by a few rounds before he could get out of firing range completely.

'Where did this come from?!' Roland wondered as he barely dodged another shot from Wing Zero's Buster rifle.

Closing some of the distance between himself and Heero Roland sent out both of his extensional arrestors only for Heero to block one with the central part of his shield whilst extending its edge to cut the head off the other arrestor before firing a few Vulcan rounds at Roland.

The Zaft ace under Keagan for the life of him couldn't figure out how this had happened. Just a few moments ago he had gained the upper hand after seeing the vision of that seed which a part of him wondered if it was the rumored berserker ability he had heard about judging by the increase in his overall prowess and it looked as the he was making steady progress toward defeating Heero but then all that went out the window in an instant.

Whatever caused Heero's own increase in prowess seemed to trump the seed by a considerable margin. On top of the increase in skill and special awareness Heero seemed to be able to counter anything Roland could throw at him and then dish out near fatal retaliation (though the only keeping from becoming fatal was that Roland was managing to hang in there in spite of it all). If Roland didn't give the rumors going around in the Plants that the pilot known as Heero Yuy was more akin to a Demon than a human before a part of him was beginning to now.

The Seed was one thing but whatever Heero was utilizing whether it was raw skill, a feature in his mobile suit, or a combination of both his skills were now at a level that humans Natural, or Coordinator could never hope to reach. One could even say that the pilot known as Heero Yuy was quite literally superior to the entire human race.

Roland soon found him needing to hastily avoid another shot from Heero's rifle before the Gundam pilot made a beeline for him.

Much to both opponents' surprises a small number of beam came at Heero who climbed to dodge all the shots before he and Roland both turned their attention to the Buster which had its gun launcher at the ready and aimed at Heero.

"Time to go down Wing Zero!" Dearka announced before firing at Wing Zero.

Heero's eyes narrowed in annoyance. 'This guy's interference might have been useful before but now he's just getting in the way.'

Heero easily avoided the shots before shooting at Roland with his buster rifle to give himself the breathing room he needed to take out the Buster.

Dearka could only watch as the Wing Zero dived towards him at extreme speeds while maneuvering through shots from the Buster's gun launcher before he landed right in front of Dearka who felt as if his stomach had been filled with dry ice as Wing Zero faced him as if it was a God passing judgment.

The Zaft red's fear only increased when Wing Zero thrusted it shield forward right into the Buster's chest tip first, while such a blow would have normally been ineffective because of the Buster's Phase shift armor the gaping hole in the Buster's chest from when it was shot by Otto increased the blow's effectiveness substantially as Wing Zero's shield tore straight through far enough to that the tip poked out of the Buster's back essentially impaling the G weapon before it was hoisted off the ground by Wing Zero.

Inside the now wrecked cockpit Dearka screamed out in pain as he desperately tried to push away the lower edge of Wing Zero's shield which was dug deep enough into his shoulder to tear a large bloody gash as well as break his collarbone in two rending his arm useless. Much to Dearka's dismay, his effort yielded no progress whatsoever as the shield's edge didn't budge even a single centimeter due to its sheer weight.

After a few more moments Dearka shifted his efforts to grabbing a hold of the arm control with the hand he could still use and trying to maneuver the Buster's arm to punch or push Wing Zero away, anything to make it let go of the Buster and take the bottom half of it shield out of his shoulder.

"Come on move…move…..please MOOOOVVVE!" Dearka screamed out desperately moving the arm control back and forth repeatedly wanting the Buster to move but because of the massive damage it had now been subjected to it was no longer operational and as such it came no closer to yielding any real results than his previous effort.

Roland who simply watched the display of brutality felt only a small amount of pity for the Buster's pilot as the G weapon dangled off the Wing Zero's shield like a man impaled on a long spear. While they didn't receive the most pleasant end it was ultimately their own fault that such a brutal end was their fate. After what happened with the Duel the Buster's pilot, as well as the rest of the Rau LA Cruset team, should have known better than to even think of challenging Wing Zero.

As the Buster's phase shift armor came down Heero simply gave his shield a horizontal swing throwing the remains of fake Gundam at Roland who quickly put away his rifle, drew his beam saber and activated it along with his beam claws before using them to hack the said remains in half at the waist just beneath the cockpit just before they could slam into him.

XXXXX

"Heero's taken out the Buster!" Sai announced.

"What you mean to say he's disposed of it!?" Ramius asked

"Yeah, he's engaging one last mobile suit."

'So, we have one less prototype to deal with. If Heero can keep this up the other two stolen G weapons shouldn't be around much longer. It would certainly make things easier for us.'

"And what about Ensign Yamato and Lieutenant La Flaga?"

"Mu La Flaga is dealing with the last four attack choppers and Kira is…."

"What, what's he doing?" Ramius demanded.

"He's fighting one of the new Zaft mobile suits…alongside the Aegis."

Ramius well as almost the entirety of everyone on the bridge became wide eyed.

"What?!"

XXXXX

"This is ridiculous!" Kira exclaimed in anger as he fired a couple of CIW rounds at Otto who simply avoided them before returning fire with his rifle.

The reason for Kira's discontentment was due to how he simply wanted this fight to be over with so he wouldn't have to worry about Athrun being killed here but things were straying far from what he had initially hoped for.

In spite of being at a considerable disadvantage with one of his unit's arms missing resulting in the lack of a close quarters armament and having two opponents to deal with both of which were piloting prototypes from Heliopolis Otto showed remarkable skill holding his own against both Kira and Athrun's combined efforts to defeat him.

Athrun then tried to close in to attack with his remaining arm mounted beam saber but Otto forced him to back off via his extensional arrestors which Athrun had to dodge before he tried to counter with his CIWs only for Otto to maneuver out of his line of fire.

Kira tried to utilize the momentary distraction to attack with his own beam saber only for Otto to send out a straight kick to the Strike's chest.

Athrun wanted to use the Scylla cannon but his battery power was barely above fifteen percent so he couldn't afford to run the risk of missing since the use of the Scylla cannon drain the battery fairly fast and running out of power here would only mean certain death which would leave Kira to fight Otto on his own.

With that in mind the Zaft red fired a few more CIW round forcing Otto to evade them before making a dash after him whilst activating one of his leg mount beam sabers. At the same time Kira made a beeline at Otto from his other side leaving the GuAIZ pilot in the middle of a pincer attack.

Much to the shock of both Kira and Athrun Otto countered their assault by sending one extensional arrestor at each of them before firing at Athrun with his beam rifle hitting to Aegis in its leg disabling its MS form's ability to walk.

'This is the fate of those who interfere with Roland's goals' Otto Poleg thought as he readied himself to fire the final shot that would finish off Athrun for good before his cockpit alarms went off alerting him to an incoming attack from the Strike which tried to rush him with its beam saber coming in for an overhead swing which Otto dodged via pulling back but his rifle was lost when Kira cut through it leaving Otto with no weapon aside from his extensional arrestors leaving Kira at an advantage he'd soon lose just as fast as he gained it.

Acting quickly Otto he raised his unit's leg kicking the Strike's arm and causing it to let go of its beam saber inadvertently fly into the air while Kira was momentarily distracted by the loss of his weapon Otto sent a kick to the Strike's chest sending it the ground before climbing after the beam saber and catching it in midair.

Turning his attention back to the Strike which was standing again Otto didn't waste a single second diving after it. Kira tried to counter with his CIWs but Otto maneuvered around them closing the distance much to Kira's dismay as he felt a wave of anxiety wash over him causing him to raising shield.

Unfortunately, Otto simply maneuvered to beam saber behind it as he brought the weapon down severing the Strike's arm before raising the beam saber he pilfered from the Strike to deliver the finishing blow.

Athrun who had been trying to get his machine to properly stand in spite of the condition of its leg felt his stomach turn cold as it occurred to him that his dearest friend from his childhood who he had been trying to persuade to stop fighting for the EA which was intent on oppressing Coordinators at best and genocide at worst was going to die here after it seemed like there was hope once again that they didn't have to be enemies.

As the thought of that grim scenario occurred to the Zaft red pilot wanted nothing more than stop that from how but with his own machine in such terrible condition he wasn't sure what he could possibly do.

It was then that an image of a seed that matched the color of his eyes appeared in his mind falling downwards until it touched a seemingly endless abyss of water causing small ripples before it burst into multiple particles of light. After this had occurred Athrun felt much calmer and the answer to his dilemma suddenly became crystal clear.

Without a moment's delay Athrun changed his suit to MA mode and fired the Scylla cannon which forced Otto to halt his attack and avoid the blast however Athrun didn't stop there utilizing the Aegis's cruise mode he made a beeline for Otto before changing his unit to it MS mode and simply letting its sheer momentum carry it the rest of the way. The very moment he was in range Athrun activated his arm mounted beam saber and brought it overhead only for Otto to block the attack using the Beam saber originally belonging to the strike.

While to any would be spectators it would have looked as if Athrun plan had failed that hypothetical belief was proven wrong Athrun ignited the beam saber in the leg the that was still working and brought it up. Due to their beam sabers being locked even if only momentarily until gravity took hold of the Aegis and pulled it down Otto could do nothing but watch as the amber blade cut off not only one of his arrestors but also his unit's remaining arm before the Aegis fell on its back in the sand before its phase shift came down from running out of power.

Otto was about to pay Athrun back using his remaining extensional arrestor but he felt a sudden hard impact to the side of his machine.

Turning to the side monitor Otto immediately discovered it was the Strike which had tossed a Schneider knife in the GuAIZ's skirt armor right where the remaining arrestor was located essentially rending it useless and leaving Otto virtually unarmed.

Otto Poleg growled in anger before sighing in defeat since weather he liked it or not the outcome of this fight was clear for anyone to see. 'Roland I'm sorry I can't help you any further.' Otto thought before he began retreating to the Salvation.

Meanwhile the Strike's own phase shift armor came down while Kira simply sighed a breath of relief. 'I'm glad that's over with. I really hope I never have to face that guy again.' He though as the Strike fell backwards in the sand.

XXXXX

Roland held his beam claws and beam saber over his machine's head in an x formation blocking an overhead swing from Wing Zero's beam saber before launching his remaining extensional arrestor to force Heero back giving him breathing room to avoid a spray of bullets from Wing Zero's remaining shoulder gun.

'He's lasted a lot longer than I expected.' Heero thought as he closed in to attack with his beam saber which Roland met with his beam claws.

In spite of the fact that Heero was utilizing the Zero system even if it was only a limited amount Roland still somehow managed to hold out even now. Granted Heero was the one winning but the fact that Roland could even put up this much of a fight with a mass production suit that the average (Coordinator) pilot could handle just went to show how far Roland was from your usual or typical ace level pilot.

Acting swiftly Roland utilized his arrestor to try and force Heero to pull back only for him to duck under the attack and follow up by flying past Roland cutting off his machine's good leg the process which put his machine off balance due to the loss of one of its thrusters.

'Dammit I can't lose here! For the sake of the world Keagan's aiming for I have to bring Heero Yuy down!' Roland thought while typing away on the cockpit's computer at speeds that were abnormal even for a Coordinator as he made adjustments to his unit's OS were near being literally instantaneous before turning around and making a beeline for Wing Zero while spinning his unit around in a 360-degree angle.

Heero was momentarily baffled by action until the remaining leg of Roland's GuAIZ stretched outward. Unfortunately for the Gundam pilot the said distraction however brief it may have been was enough to give Roland the opening he needed to close the distance between himself and Heero before he applied the changes he made to his OS to increase power to the thruster in his machine's remaining leg resulting an a higher amount of momentum it was brought around with which in turn led to a hard kick to Wing Zero's midriff area with enough force to completely shatter the GuAIZ's damaged leg to pieces restoring the Mobile suit's balance and rattle Wing Zero's cockpit enough to provide Roland with a second opening he wasted no time in taking.

Bringing his beam saber overhead Roland made a vertical swing that was intended to sever Wing Zero's arm off along with a sizable portion of the side of its upper body but Heero managed to pivot his mobile suit to the side which mitigated the damage changing the would be result to a gash in the side of Wing Zero's chest. Luckily the blow missed the search eye leaving it in working condition but the bad new was that there was now a gaping hole in the side of its chest that could very well make for an exploitable weak spot in the future if not now considering who Heero's current opponent was.

Well that was assuming the Gundam pilot actually planned on letting such a thing happen here but that was little more than a hypothetical scenario, in actuality Heero was going to end this fight here and now which he made very evident with his next with his next action.

Thrusting his shield forward Heero used its tip to pierce and tear all the way through the GuAIZ's shoulder severing its beam saber arm off before using his Vulcans to take out Roland's main camera. At the same time, he had pulled his beam saber off of Roland's beam claws and maneuvered it underneath the GuAIZ's other arm before bringing it up and severing it off leaving the Zaft machine without any limbs but he didn't stop there as he used the last of the bullets in his remaining shoulder gun to spray the GuAIZ tearing off numerous chunks of its armor.

As fate would have it however the bullets ran out before Roland's machine could be completely destroyed and even more miraculously the GuAIZ was still somehow able to maintain flight, not that it really mattered, what was left of it would soon be wiped out the plane of existence as Heero took aim with his Buster rifle.

Watching through his sub cameras Roland gritted his teeth in anxiety as it dawned on him that he was going die here, that the mission was going to fell, that Wing Zero and its pilot Heero Yuy would continue to threaten Keagan's ambitions, that the man who he regarded as his savior and who gave his life a purpose that made it worth living, who he practically loved and regarded as his father would potentially be hunted and killed by the enemy Roland himself couldn't beat.

'KEAGAN FORGIVE ME!" Roland thought closing his eyes and waiting for the end.

"Roland get of here now!" A new but familiar voice yelled out before another GuAIZ rammed itself into side of Wing Zero throwing its aim off just before it could fire as well as knocking it away shocking both Roland and Heero.

The former was left wondering which GuAIZ pilot could have still been left after they'd all been wiped out by Heero before realizing it was one of the three pilots who initially tried to eliminate the La Cruset team more specifically the one who stayed calm enough to inform Roland of the decision to engage the G weapons when the Buster had initially interfered.

"How did you survive?"

"Both of the others were eliminated by the Aegis while I was engaging the Blitz. As soon as I realized you were on the losing end of your fight against Wing Zero I disengaged my opponent to assist you but since its too late now I'll buy you the time to escape."

"But I lost, the mission's a failure."

"That may be but as long as your still alive we have hope of defeating Wing Zero."

Roland's eyes widen as he found himself unable to respond. How could he defeat Wing Zero at all when he had already lost here even with the berserker ability?

"Roland, you haven't reached your full potential as a pilot." The GuAIZ pilot said as they circled around Wing Zero exchanging fire with it until their unit's arm was shot off.

"This pilot is beyond what anyone human aside from you Natural or Coordinator could ever hope to truly go against that is why I implore to live and fight another day so that Keagan's ideals can be protected." The pilot said launching the extensional arrestors at Heero who simply cut through them with his beam saber.

Hearing what his comrade had said Roland felt his resolve to support whatever future Keagan planned to create for the sake of everlasting peace return before he replied. "What's your name."

"Brian Walter."

"Thank you. I'll make sure your sacrifice isn't forgotten or in vain." Roland said before turning to leave. As he began heading toward the Salvation Heero immediately took notice and aimed his rifle as him.

'You're not going anywhere.' Before Heero could fire however Brian made a beeline for him tackling his machine to the ground before grabbing Wing Zero's fore arm which held the beam saber in its hand essentially pinning the Gundam.

"I'm not gonna let you shoot down Roland!" Brian declared.

Heero's eyes narrowed in anger he attempted to pushed the GuAIZ off of his machine with Zero's free arm after letting go of the Buster rifle but the GuAIZ was proving to capable of putting the struggle needed to buy Roland the time he needed to escape as it held on much to the Gundam pilot's dismay.

XXXXX

Within the Aegis which was still laying in the sand was Athrun who simply listened to all radio frequencies he was able to keep track of what was happening the best he could. While he couldn't tell all of what was happening from what he was able to make out so far it sounded like Zaft forces were going to lose the fight.

Sighing he simply resigned to his fate as a soon to be prisoner of war before a voice hailed him over the radio.

"Athrun I'm taking you back to the Lesseps' replacement."

The Zaft reds eyes widened as he turned on his monitors to find the Blitz which had lost its left forearm and head and now sported two gashes across its chest along with an absence of lance darts picking up his machine with its good arm.

"Nicole? Wait what happened to Dearka."

"…He didn't make it. Wing Zero took him out."

"….I see."

"Anyway, let's get out of here."

XXXXX

On the bridge of the Lesseps' replacement DaCosta watched as the remains of Roland's mobile suit boarded the Salvation before it began heading away.

After glancing at the Blitz bringing the Aegis back to the ship DaCosta sighed before looking to the only GuAIZ unit that was still operational currently holding down Wing Zero.

Calling the outcome, a disaster at this point might have been more of an understatement than an accurate assessment. Not only was the Commander dead but one of the G weapons was smashed and slashed to hell and the other two wore fare from one hundred percent and on top of that the special squadron had failed to defeat Wing Zero.

And all that wasn't even taking into account that the source of all the failures could be traced back to the actions of the La Cruset team thanks to the now destroyed Buster. In all honesty DaCosta felt a bit sorry for the remaining two G weapon pilots since knowing the radicals on the Zaft council the plots were likely going to be made into scapegoats for what had happened here.

"Fire a retreat flare, we're leaving while we have the chance." DaCosta said as the Blitz boarded the ship with the Aegis."

XXXXX

"Captain one of the enemy vessels shot off a retreat signal." Sai announced.

"Cease fire." Ramius ordered upon hearing Sai's report.

"Captain are you sure that's a good idea?" Natarle asked.

In her opinion while it may not have been the most moral thing to do the Crew should have used the opportunity to wipe the retreating forces out since it would have meant the end of the G Weapons stolen by Zaft and that one pilot who could actually fight on par with Heero. Given how much of a threat both posed it would have been in the crew's best interest to act pragmatically and take both threats here and now taking away both trump cards from the enemy and giving the EA the upper hand in this war and potentially getting rid of the need to rely so much on Heero who was too much of a wild card. Needless to say, taking out the enemy here would have killed quite a few birds with a single stone.

"No sense in wasting all our ammo here. We'll need it for anymore encounters with Zaft forces that lie ahead on our way to Alaska."

As much as she wanted to argue against that logic it was impossible to refute Murrue's claim especially when the Archangel was a high priority target for the enemy and combined with how far the ship was from its original intended destination Zaft would undoubtedly have more shots at it which they were pretty much guaranteed to take.

"Very well I'll order the Skygrasper back. We'll have to have Heero Yuy bring the Strike back with him."

XXXXX

Understood I'm heading back now." MU said after being notified by Mirriallia he was to return to the Archangel.

Glancing down at where the Strike was laying in the sand Mu had to resist the urge to cringe as he saw it lost an entire arm.

"I guess it can't be helped. Zaft was fighting pretty hard." He mused before looking to Wing Zero and seeing its broken shoulder gun and the gash in the side of its chest.

'Even Heero didn't come out unscathed.'

XXXXX

"Get off me." Heero said before finally shoving the GuAIZ off of him before standing up and stabbing it through the cockpit.

Turning to where the Zaft ships were headed he saw they were long out of range of his Buster rifle.

"Dammit." As infuriating as it was there wasn't anything Heero could do at the moment, Roland Quinby and any other Zaft forces were long gone and while it would likely take some time Heero would have to track Roland down and dispose of him some other time.

As things currently stood the best he could do was find a mass driver and head to the Plants and dispose of Keagan. If all went well he'd likely find Roland there or at least get his attention and draw him out.

Turning his attention to Kira the Gundam pilot discovered the Strike was still laying in the sand where it had been since the fight with Otto Poleg.

"Mine as well bring it back to the Archangel along with its severed arm."

XXXXX

"So, you'll be heading over the sea?" Sahib inquired. It had now been a couple of hours since the Zaft forces in the area were defeated and driven off since that time the Skygrasper and Wing Zero had returned to the Archangel but not before the latter of the two brought the damaged Strike and the remains of the Buster (At Murrue's request) on board.

"Yes, It's the best route we can take while avoiding Zaft controlled territory."

"That may be true but that won't stop them from pursuing you along the way and with the Strike so damaged….."

"I know." The captain replied not needing the desert dawn leader to finish. "With the Strike current condition, it's no longer fit to head into combat meaning we'll have to rely primarily on Heero Yuy for the time being."

"And even He didn't come out unscathed this time."

"I noticed but in spite of that he's still our best chance for fighting off any enemies that will pursue us."

"I see."

"All that aside what will you guys do? While we may have driven off Zaft forces there's a very real possibility that they'll return to regain control of this region."

"Me and my men are all well aware of this fact but regardless we'll fight off anyone who tries to invade our home. We don't wish to rule nor will we allow ourselves to be ruled."

Murrue smiled in admiration of the Desert Dawn leader's conviction. "Well good luck."

"Same to you."

"Wait!" A new voice called out snagging everyone's attention and causing them to turn and see Cagalli running towards them.

"Is there something you want princess?" Mu asked.

"Yeah and don't call me princess!" Cagalli retorted before turning to the Archangel's captain.

"Anyway, I want you to take me with you!"

The only immediate response the blonde tomboy got was a confused stare before Ramius was able to bring herself to actually reply.

"You know we're traveling by sea right,"

"Well yeah, that's pretty a given considering your sole ultimatum is heading straight into Zaft controlled territory."

"Well princess, are you also aware we're likely going to be pursued all the way to Alaska?" MU inquired

"Of course, and that's all the more reason to take me with you. I can help out with fighting off any Zaft forces show up for the time being."

"Time being?" Murrue asked.

"Yeah I don't plan on going with you all the way to Alaska or joining the Earth Alliance but I'll help out while I'm on board. Anyway, I'm going with you."

Ramius just sighed before deciding to grant Cagalli's request.

"Very well, however just so we're clear I expect you to assist in any combat situation like you said you would and you'll be following Mu La Flaga's orders understood?"

While from a professional view the idea of bringing a random civilian onboard to help take part in battles against the enemy was more than a little irrational as well as illegal the fact remained the Strike was out of commission and the only had one Skygrasper grasper to rely along with an unpredictable wild card that made it abundantly clear they didn't plan on staying the Archangel for the duration of the war so for all the prowess he wielded Ramius felt it be better to have other means of protecting the ship then just Wing Zero

"Yeah."

"Good you can begin practicing on the simulator as soon as we head out."

"I have no Argument's there." Cagalli replied before heading for the ship.

Mu scratched the back of his head wearing a sheepish smile. "Well it'll be nice knowing we have someone to use the other Skygrasper.

"That makes two of us." Ramius replied.

"Though with everything that's happened the rest of the way's going to be unnerving.

XXXXX

In another part of that same desert far out of the Archangel's radar range the Salvation had landed temporarily.

The reason for doing so wasn't because of any type of malfunction seeing as any damage to the ship was mitigated since the majority of the EA's legged ship's focus was directed at the Lesseps' replacement during the duration of the earlier fight with it.

The reason for the pitstop was a rather unanticipated discovery which was the remains of a mobile suit or more specifically the torso of one. A few other parts were scattered around the area but they were blackened and melted from falling through the Earth's atmosphere not that it really matters the machine in question was well beyond repair and everyone on the Salvation all highly doubted Zaft would bother building a replacement or variant since with the GuAIZ beginning mass production there'd be no point.

Roland was well aware that investigating the remains of a burnt up machine served no point especially when he urgently needed to report back to Keagan about the mission's failure and it was doubtful the search would turn up anything that was even remotely fruitful but for whatever reason he wanted to check it out regardless.

Upon exiting the ship Roland climbed on top of the torso area and quickly pried the hatch open. It didn't take much effort since the locking mechanism was completely broke.

Upon completely opening the hatch Roland was greeting by a rather cringe worthy sight. Inside was a burnt body that was practically charred black.

"Of course, this would be all I would find. Still I can't feel much pity for him since he brought this on himself.' Roland thought before taking notice of something that should have been impossible at this point.

The body's chest was slightly convulsing meaning that it was breathing. The person inside the destroyed machine against all odds was still alive.

"Z….Z…"

Roland merely sighed. "While saving you probably a waste of time Keagan would like have enough pity to do so anyway so I suggest you don't waste the second opportunity at life you're about to get.

"Arg…..arg."

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter sorry for the long wait but I had to look over it multiple times to make sure there's not a grammar mistake in every other line this time ….well that and its incredibly long length but you get the idea.**

 **That all aside there are a few things I want to point out. If the previous chapter and the first scene of this one didn't make it obvious I'm indeed planning on having Lacus become a mobile suit pilot. In seed destiny she briefly flew the justice infinite, even if it was only to get it to Athrun it shows the idea is plausible even by cannon standards. How powerful or skilled of a pilot Lacus can become is more or less anyone's guess. Wikia pretty much says that any abilities she has aside from a politician or a ship commander are unknown so there's no way of really telling how far Lacus' potential really goes. Personally I believe at the very least she'd likely make a better pilot than Cagalli (No pun intended) considering she has a seed factor and she's a Coordinator so I'm at least gonna make her that strong if not stronger.**

 **As for what suit she'll have I want to give her an original one though it won't be a Gundam, I won't to make it something that with enough skill can fight on par with one though I might ask for suggestions via people who've pm'd me in the past.**

 **When it come's to Dearka. First I'll apologize for the brutal way he was defeated in this fight personally I'd have rather had that happen to Yzak but he's already been dealt with. There were two distinct reasons it happened. First I was inspired by Gundam IBO I love the brutal deaths that take place through the show, Second as brutal as it was Dearka ultimately brought it on himself I mean he was trying to but in when Heero was fighting Roland who's one of his two primary targets as of now and Heero wasn't going to put up with it.**

 **And yes I know what he did might have been out of character by some standards but you gotta remember Yzak was Dearka's best friend so he'd have good reason to hate Heero for what happened during the atmospheric fight.**

 **And lastly Dearka IS STILL ALIVE but he's hurt really badly I mean he had edge Wing Zero's shield stuck in his shoulder to the point it cut a really deep gash into a broke bone clean in half.**

 **And finally the main purpose of the fight scenes was to establish that Roland Quinby is indeed Heero's equal in the battle field as far as his potential goes though he was bound to lose this fight since he was fighting Heero with a mass production mobile suit Heero himself didn't come out unscathed.**

 **The entire reason Roland's in this story is to give Heero an opponent who can actually match because let's just face it 9 out of 10 people know Heero can pretty much curb stomp anyone from the seed universe hands down. At his base he's already an extremely high level pilot who can near instantly master any mobile suit which was shown when he piloted the Heavy arm and Mercurius and really can only be beaten when he's facing a no win situation and even then he can still put quite a fight if the time he faced Quatre who was using Wing Zero at the time is anything to go by or when he went up against an army of Virgo's with his original Wing Gundam.**

 **And all that's not even taking into account that he has Wing Zero which as some people mentioned in the reviews is a Colony destroying mobile suit that has a shit load of endurance and extremely high response time as shown when Zechs piloted it and has a system that amplifies Heero's already extremely high skills even further and shows him a variety of possible future/scenarios throughout a battle so someone like Roland Quinby in my opinion's kind of necessary for this type of crossover**

 **Beyond that let me know what you thought of the chapter.**


	9. Potential and distrust

**Ok first I want to apologize for the long delay in the update I originally had a good portion of the chapter done on my PC before it broke so I was forced to start from scratch on my IPad than reluctantly.**

 **Anyway I got nothing more to say beyond that so on with the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam seed or Wing.**

* * *

"Will someone please tell me why the Strike is missing an entire limb!?" Demanded the Chief mechanic Murdoch.

When he had heard the Strike had received excessive damage he figured at the time that it had lost an armament granted that actually happened but the chief mechanic was more than a little shocked when he discovered the said damaged went considerably further.

"One of the pilots of the new mass production model Zaft developed managed to sever it when Kira was trying save the pilot of the Aegis."

"That just raises the question of why the hell the kid was trying to save that other G weapon in the first place."

"Your guess is as good as mine on that one." Mu said offhandedly.

Honestly even the Hawk of Endymion wanted to know the answer to that particular question. The pilot of the Strike's actions baffled everyone on the ship and the confusion only increased when the Aegis returned the favor saving the Strike towards the end before Kira delivered the blow that forced the opposing pilot to finally retreat from the battlefield.

It was more than a little tedious to deal with when Kira simply gave the vaguest answer when confronted with the question of why he did what he had.

Surprisingly however it was Natarle of all people who decided that it would be best to best to simply move forward since the entire crew had already been through so much in the desert granted they got resupplied in terms of weaponry for the Archangel but everyone on the ship needed some semblance of a calm and tension free atmosphere for the time being before Zaft attempted to pursue them again. Still Kira was warned that should he encounter the remaining G weapons again he'd be expected to engage them as he would any enemy.

"Well that aside repairing the arm's gonna take more than a little time and that's assuming it's actually possible with the supplies we have on board that aren't weaponry for the ship."

"And what about Wing Zero? Even that machine didn't come out unscathed."

Murdoch groaned in slight frustration. "That Heero kid said he'd only let us repair the shoulder Gatling that got damaged during the fighting and only under his supervision. You'd think he'd learn to have a little more trust in the people around him."

The chief mechanic turned his gaze to Wing Zero and stared at the gashes in the side of its chest before signing. "I'm seriously starting to wonder if there's anyone in the entire earth sphere that kid isn't ready to shoot if they so much as breath wrong."

"The only person I can think of who could possibly fall into a category like that would be that pink princess from the Plants."

"You mean Lacus Clyne? I know that girl's a big time celebrity in the Plants but if she's actually able to get Heero to trust her then she really has to be someone special."

"No argument there."

XXXXX

"You idiot! What makes you think you're in any type of position to refuse?!" Zala roared over the radio at his son Athrun.

The reason for the secretary of defense' rage was strived from the failure of the mission to take down the Earth Alliance's new ship, the Strike, and the Wing Zero. It wasn't so much the failure in general as it was the part of the cause of it, namely Athrun and Nicol's interfering with the special squadron after they deemed Dearka an enemy for near friendly fire.

After the report of the mission's failure was given to the Zaft council they wasted no time in reading over the details of what had taken place, needless to say they were not happy when they learned of to La Cruset team's actions and blamed them for the mission's overall failure. On top of that many military personnel now suspected the G weapon pilots of conspiring with the EA especailly when it was discovered Athrun had temporarily fought alongside the Strike which meant they had basically lost much of the allies' trust. Miraculously Zala with support from Nicol's father managed to persuade the council to give the two remaining pilots of the team a chance to redeem themselves. There was just one problem though.

"You saw the skill of the enemy pilot when he got serious from the footage sent to you didn't you? There's no way we can go against that even with the G weapons!" Athrun tried to plea only to earn an annoyed scowl from his father.

"You and Amalfi should have should have thought of that before you assisted the Buster's pilot when he was jeopardizing the entire operation when you both should have shot him down yourselves! And that's not even taking into account that you fought alongside the Strike which has been one of our highest prioirty targets since the mobile suits manufactured on Heliopolis were first discovered. You should be grateful you're being given this chance at redemption at all when there are many who'd prefer to see the both of you given capital punishment instead. The only reason I smoothed things over for either of you to begin with is because without that special squadron and the fact we can't immediately put together another means your currently our best chance as shameful as that is to admit."

Athrun remained silent.

"Now let me make myself perfectly clear if you two wish to redeem yourselves in the eyes of the council as well as get rid of suspicions many of your fellow Zaft soldiers now harbor about the both of you as well as avoid a well deserved execution I strongly suggest that you complete the mission you and your teammate have been assigned and take down Wing Zero in addition to the Strike and the enemy's new war ship."

"Yes sir."

"Good now that we're on the same page any questions?"

"Can we expect any type of support from our allied forces?"

"You'll be linking up with two vessels one of which is carrying a combination of DINNs and GOOhN's while the other has five DINNs along with a prototype G weapon."

"A new G weapon?"

"Yes one our side created as the prototype to a project we're working on that'll solidify our victory against the Naturals."

"I see." Athrun mused maintaining a near stoic demeanor tough he was overcome with shock and desperation on the inside.

'How is a squadron of DINNs, GHOOhNs and one new G weapon going to help us against Wing Zero?! Are you trying to have it taken out of the pitcher or me and Nicol killed, don't you see how unreasonable this is?!'

Of course the Bluenette didn't dare voice these thoughts, with the extremely thin ice he and Nicol were currently treading on he was in no position to argue, not that it would have made any real difference even if it weren't, for the effects of his previous actions. Zala wasn't one to be swayed by anyone plus knowing him his arrogant belief that Coordinators were an absolutely superior species led him to think that Athrun's genes would be enough to carry the day even after everything that had happened throughout the course of the war since Wing Zero's debut which amazed the Zaft pilot now especially. It was pretty much common sense that Genetic backgrounds were meaningless in a battle against Heero Yuy assuming he was a Natural; though the secretary of defense honestly believed he made enough preparation to have Wing Zero brought down he more than likely just inadvertently set Athrun, Nicol, whoever the pilot of the new G weapon was, and all the other Zaft pilots to die on a mission where success wasn't even a possibility anymore.

"In addition to the Aegis and Blitz the force put to together should be more than enough to bring down the Legged ship along with the Strike and Wing Zero."

'That's not even close to enough.'

"I trust you have no objections?" Zala inquired though his tone issued an unspoken reminder and warning that Athrun wasn't in a position to refuse anything pertaining to the mission.

"None."

"Good, you better make sure you succeed for your own sake." Zala said before cutting the radio connection.

Athrun left the bridge of the ship in silence and stopped in the hallway where he was met by the only other remaining member La Cruset team.

"So what's going to happen to us?" Nicol inquired.

With the reality of their rather bleak situation still setting in Athrun wasn't eager to talk about what was to come but keeping his teammate in the dark wasn't within anyone's best interest so with great reluctance...

"We've narrowly avoided a court martial that would have led to our execution however..."

"However?"

"We now have to take down the legged ship and Strike along with the Wing Zero ourselves."

Nicol's eyes widened considerably. "But that's impossible for us to do on our own!"

"We're to link up with two more vessels which will us with DINNs, GOOhNs, and a new G weapon."

That last part snagged Amalfi's attention. "A new G weapon? Do you know anything about it?"

"Only that it's prototype for a special project. My father didn't give me any real specifics."

"I see. Do you think whatever the project is will help Zaft's cause?"

"My Father seems to think so, he said it would solidify our vitcory against the Naturals."

"Is our victory even assured anymore though?"

Athrun was unable to give any real answer to that question. While Nicol sounded overly pessimistic his question held much more weight now then it did in the past.

When the war had first started Zaft was practically dominating the war nearly unopposed with the only real factors keeping the other side from being defeated being their sheer numbers and unbelievable persistence with wanting to subjugate or destroy Plants but that dynamic changed when the G weapons came into play.

While the squadron sent there had acquired four of them they failed to capture the Strike which had proved to become increasingly problematic as time went on but things didn't go too far downhill until Wing Zero appeared. In the short time it's been around it had swiftly taken down more than its fair share of entire squadrons including the Duel and Buster and with the specail squadron's failure to take it down the idea of defeating it seemed increasingly futile which begged the question Nicol asked. Was Zaft really guarenteed to win this war anymore?

"I don't know what possibility we have of actually shooting that mobile suit down but with the position we're in right now we have to try even if there only the smallest semblance of a chance of us succeeding."

'Assuming that said semblance actually exist at all.'

"Makes sense all things considered." Nicol mused before shrugging.

'Let's just hope whoever the pilot of the new G weapon is that they're more level headed then Yzak and Dearka.'

XXXXX

"Man this is a relief after everything we went through!" Tolle exclaimed leaning over the railing from atop the Archangel's deck as it sailed atop the ocean's surface.

"I have to admit the endless water along with the breeze is nice." Mirriallia said in general agreement with Tolle.

A short while ago Ramius decided to have the ship taken off level two alert and allow everyone some reprieve to simply take the sights the ocean had to offer. Needless to say most of the teens from Heliopolis eagerly accepted the offer.

Kuzzy was watching the ocean much more nervously, unlike the others who found the sight amazing he found it more along the lines of unnerving. "I don't know about this, I hear it gets really deep in some parts."

Mirrialia smiled mischievously. "Some say there's even sea monsters in some parts."

"He-hey cut it out."

Tolle laughed at the exchange between the two. "You shouldn't tease him so much."

"Sorry I couldn't resist." Mirriallia turned her attention back to Kuzzy. "You were born in Heliopolis weren't you?"

"Yeah and I thought the desert was unnerving."

Tolle patted his shoulder. "Relax nothing in the ocean can get to us."

At that same moment a school of dolphins began surfacing repeatedly for those on the ship's deck to see which was more the welcome by teens. Meanwhile the door leading to the deck opened to reveal none other then Cagalli who had agreed to become the unofficial pilot of the second Skygrasper in exchange for accompanying the crew while Kisaka had assumed an advisor's role on the bridge of the ship for the duration his stay.

"Hey have any of you seen Kira?"

Tolle simply wore his usual carefree expression. "I think he's on the bridge."

"Really? I would have thought he'd need this more than anyone."

"That's what I thought but apparently he decided to stay on the bridge it's a little unusual for him though, I wonder if it has something to do with ms Badgriuel."

Mirriallia kept her gaze on the Dolphins as she thought about it. "The two of them seemed to have grown closer, I have to say I really didn't see that one coming."

Sai was the next one to speak. "I don't think any of us did."

Tolle shrugged. "What I wanna know is when all of it started."

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Cagalli rolled her eyes in slight annoyance of the fact that the conversation veered off course best at the very least she had an idea of where Kira was. "Ok what about Heero?"

"He usually in his room or in the hanger working on his mobile suit."

"Got it thanks." Cagalli replied running off before briefly noticing a girl with red hear heading towards the deck with a look that implied she was searching for someone.

XXXXX

"It looks like you didn't receive any damage to your internal systems meaning your shoulder Vulcan was the only thing that need to be replaced." Heero mused as his finished checking Wing Zero's systems.

The Gundam pilot had to admit he was actually relieved, the damage to Wing Zero's chest area was more minimized then he had originally anticipated. As luck would have it Roland only managed tear two gashes in the outer armor but his machine's beam claws never reached any further than that.

Still as relieving as that was the Gundam pilot could not afford to let his guard down. Heero had already seen a high level of potential within Roland during their first encounter and their last fight only affirmed it. On top of that the gashes still left a new made weak spot that smarter enemies may very well try to exploit, unfortunately at the moment their wasn't anything Heero could do about it.

He didn't have the resources or means and he didn't have any intent on turning to the crew for help since not only would it be a pointless endeavor but it would also mean allowing the mechanics to looks at the internal systems of Wing Zero. He couldn't repair it on his own since the biggest component he was missing was gundanium which the people of he Cosmic didn't know how to make or that it even existed to begin with.

Plus in order to make it at all one needed to be in a zero gravity environment.

'It looks like I'm gonna have bear with the situation for the time being.'

The Gundam pilot opened the hatch to his machine and exited its cockpit. He took the star tear out of his pocket and let his thoughts drift to Lacus Clyne. Once again the perfect soldier began to wonder what possessed him to trust the songstress the way he did.

Had any of what had happened between the two so far taken place during the time he was fighting the orginal earth alliance back in his own world as a part of operation meteor he would be taking more risks than he had with Relena and that was saying something considering he found himself protecting the latter at one point when it would have been far more pragmatic to kill her especailly with everything she knew about him at the time.

He had revealed where he was from which could be considered unwise from a certain perspective but in spite illogical it may have been Lacus has not once did anything to betray his trust, even when the Archangel's top officers questioned her about what had happened before Heero found her she ommitted the part where he wiped out the entirety of the Earth forces responsible for murdering the memorial crew she was traveling with when she was on her way to junious seven. Granted it wouldn't have worked in her favor but still her sincerity was more genuine than the majority of poeple the Gundam pilot had met not unlike Relena's own.

'It's practically ironic that the relationship's I have with her is so similar to the one I had with Relena yet so different at the time.' The teen soldier thought as his gaze lingered on the teal colored trinket.

"So this is where you've been the whole time. You should really learn to unwind once in a while." A Femenine voice said causing Heero to turn and see Cagalli heading his way.

"You know in the short time I've met you've proven to be exactly how the others described you."

Heero didn't bother with any real type of reply.

"They said that you're always either working on your mobile suit or in your room."

"There's no reason to be anywhere else."

"If you say so, though you could afford to trust the people on this ship with your machine a little."

"That's never gonna happen. Beyond getting the shoulder Vulcan repaired I don't have any intention of letting anyone touch my mobile suit."

"Then what about the damage to you mobile suit's chest? You can't possibly think of going out into battle without getting that repaired!"

"Actually that's exactly what I planned on doing."

Cagalli was dumbstruck be the irrational nature of Heero's declaration.

"You do realize your machine could fall apart right?"

"Zero's frame isn't so fragil that its current amount of damage would be enough to ensure it destruction on its own and the mobile suit's still operational so I can make do with the current situation."

"Are you even listening to yourself right now? You'll being going out with two gaping holes in the side of its chest, that's going to leave you at a massive disadvantage."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with one." Heero replied before walking off to the first floor of the ship's hanger whilst Cagalli faceplamed wondering why Heero was so uptight about everything.

She never met anyone who was so distrustful of everyone around them and had to wonder why it was so hard for the Wing Zero's pilot to understand that with the condition and the Strike and Buster combined with the fact neither one were likely going to be repaired anytime soon (assuming it was even possible for the latter considering it had been impaleded and slashed in two halves) that the crew needed to rely on Wing Zero now more than ever and it'd be far safer for everyone on board the Archangel if the machine was in peek condition or if there existed even a single person in the entirety of the earth sphere that the Gundam pilot didn't percieve as a potential enemy before catching a glimpse of a trinket dangling from Heero's hand.

Ordinarily Cagalli wouldn't have cared less about what accesseries someone else had but what snagged her attentain of the teal color and water drop shap the trinket possessed.

She remembered Ahmed showing her a trinket just like it at one point saying it symbolizes a specail bond two people that were close to each other. That just left the question of who could Heero possibly have such a bond with, the only person he didn't downright ignore most of the time save for when a situation calls for him to due otherwise seemed to be Lacus Clyne.

'You've gotta be kidding me. Has the Earth sphere's biggest dunce seriously managed to win over the earth sphere's biggest reluctant? I know they went out the day before we fought the desert tiger but I didn't think it would go anywhere.'

Glancing down at the first floor Cagalli saw Heero begin speaking with the chief mechanic Murdoch who was trying to convince him that it would within his best interest to have Wing Zero's chest repaired but of course Heero declined. At the same time Cagalli also spotted the red headed girl along with the boy named Sai Argyle if she remembered correctly following close behind much to the reddet's annoyance.

"Go away already. I told you our engagement doesn't mean anything now that my father's dead."

"But Flay why are you constantly looking for Kira?!"

"None of your bussiness now leave me alone!" Flay yelled before dashing off and shooting a hateful look at Heero who didn't bother sparing her a slightest glance.

'Well that was interesting to watch.' Cagalli though as she decided to head to the deck for a little while longer before seeing how Kira was doing.

XXXXX

Honestly when Murrue decided to give the crew time to just take in the view of the ocean she had really hoped Kira would take the offer after everything he had been through so it came as quite a surprise when the young Coordinator pilot decided simply stay on the bridge.

"Kira I know the Strike isn't in any real condition to go out into but even I'd like for you to make sure its internal sysems aren't to damaged."

"I already took care of it."

"Really now?"

"Yeah, there was some wear and tear on the inner frame but its all still holding together."

"Meaning as long as we can reattach the arm it'll be fit to head into combat again." One of the crewmen on the bridge replied.

"Yeah, though from what I've been hearing they might not be able to do so."

The crewman scowled. "Meaning we'll have to gamble and hope Wing Zero doesn't decide simply sit back and watch our ship get destroyed."

"I don't think he'll do that."

"How do you know? Are you friends with him now?"

"I don't know much of anything about him but somehow I can tell. In spite of the way he can act at times he's a good person at heart. Besides if push comes to shove. I can just use the Strike like it is now."

Natarle's eyes wondered. "Ki- I mean ensign Yamato you should never take blatant risk with your life or that of the Strike."

The archangel's second in command quickly averted her gaze from the young Coordinator pilot hiding a slight blush that had found its way on her face after she realized that she nearly referred to Kira by his first name earning a raised eyebrow from the ship's captain.

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say it was an odd thing to witness since Natarle was normally uptight about professionalism, but then again the leniency she showed when it came to what happened during the fight in the desert was downright shocking.

 _-Flashback start-_

 _"Kira you know why you've been called here?" Murrue inquired sitting behind a desk with Mu and Natarle standing on either side._

 _Kira grimanced, he already knew this was coming. "It's because I fought alongside the Aegis right?"_

 _"Correct. While you didn't necessarily betray us you still owe us an explanation for why you fought with one of the stolen G weapons."_

 _"So much was happening so fast I didn't have time to really think about what I was doing." A poor excuse obviously but the young Coordinator pilot didn't know what else to tell them. If he confessed his actions were derived from the fact that the Aegis' pilot was a dear friend of his it would only serve to create complications since everyone onboard would no longer trust him._

 _"Kid not that I want to paint you in a bad light but you're gonna have to come up with a better explanation than that. If you seriously couldn't think long enough to properly differentiate between enemy and allies than how can we trust you not to commit friendly fire?" Mu inquired._

 _Kira's eyes widened. "The entire reason I pilot the Strike at all is to protect this ship!"_

 _"I think I speak for everyone when I say we all appreciate that but your actions and explanian don't paint a very good pitcher. If we were at a court martial it'd be next to impossible to defend you."_

 _Kira groaned inwardly in frustration. As unnerving as it may have been to admit what Mu La Flaga just told him was true. Even though Athrun was someone he knew personally the fact remained he was essentially the enemy he wasn't just a civilian from the Plants like Lacus Clyne but an legit solider of Zaft and a threat to the lives of his friends on board the Archangel and someone Kira likely have to shoot down if Heero didn't beat him to the punch._

 _Murrue decided to finally answer the question all she, Mu, and Natarle were all wondering._

 _"Ensign Yamato we don't want to force the issue but we need to know are we going to be able to continue rellying on you?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _Murrue was about to reply when Natarle beat her to it. "While it didn't prove costly this time you need to be ready to fight off enemy forces whenever we encounter them. Even if its the remaining G weapons. Is that Understood?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Than I don't see any need to push the matter any further so long as you don't repeat your actions in the future."_

 _Kira and everyone else was left momentarily dumbfounded and speachless._

 _Where the had been expected the Archangel's second in Command to be more cavelier about reprimanding Kira than anyone on board she was actually being the most lenient._

 _Still as odd as it was it provided a way to end the entire situation right then and there provided Kira actually never fought alongside any enemy unit again so Ramias decided to just go with it._

 _"Well if it's all the same to everyone here we can just settle for that."_

 _"I guess if it works for you than I won't press the issue any further."_

 _The teen Coordinator couldn't believe his luck. To say he dodged a bullet was putting lightly not only did he somehow avoid any real punishment but also having to answering to big question everyone was wondering about._

 _-flash back end-_

Now that the Captain thought about it Kira seemed to hang around Natarle more as of late, how it started was beyond her but it didn't seem like a bad situation so she wasn't particularly worried.

Suddenly the entrance to the bridge opened.

"How many times due I have to tell you to leave me alone?!" Nearly yelled the voice of Flay glaring at Sai who stood behind her before turning to those on the bridge or more specifically Kira who simply stared back confused.

"Kira why don't you come to deck with the rest of us?" Flay inquired walking up to him whilst grabbing his hand only to recieve a shock when Kira gently pulled his hand away.

"Thanks but no thanks I'm fine here on the bridge."

Flay was left dumbfounded and unsure of how to precede since she didn't expect Kira to turn down her offer.

"Oh I see...maybe later then." Flay said before turning around and leaving the bridge shoving her way pass Sai.

"Ok I can't be the only who has the feeling there was something wrong with that entire pitcher right?" Mu asked not recieving any reply as Sai who's face shown emotional hurt slumped and left the bridge himself but not before shooting Kira an odd look of envy.

XXXXX

Once she was in the hall of the of the Archangel alone Flay let out an enraged scream before banging her fist against the wall.

"Why the hell won't that inhuman monster do what I want him too!" Flay roared before digging her nails into the side of her head.

Why wouldn't Kira just dance to the tune she wanted him too. Back on Heliopolis he was always stairing at her thinking she hadn't noticed making his feelings at the time pretty clear cut.

Knowing that Flay should have had an easy time getting him blindly wrapped around her finger so she could have some hand in his death.

But now when she tried to bait him he wouldn't bite at this rate she'd never be able exact her revenge, she couldn't be satisfied with Kira dying unless she had some hand in it.

"Well if Kira won't die for me the easy he just have to pay for what he's done the hard way."

XXXXX

Getting off the Salvation which had now docked in one of the Plants hangers Roland Quinby followed by Otto Peleg and Tomason Stone who had all returned to the Plants after the fight in the desert were quickly greeted by Keagan Brown.

"I assume you and the rest of the council have already looked over the report?" The capitan of the Salvation inquired.

"I have. Luckily no one here is being blamed for the mission's failure."

"I'm guessing the blame has bean shifted towards the remainder of the La Cruset team?"

"That goes without saying. Their actions jeopardized the entire mission and more so to the point caused its failure though miraculously they avoided execution thanks to the sway their fathers exerted."

Otto raised an eyebrow. "If it's not out of line to ask what became of them?"

"They've been reassigned the mission of taking down the Earth forces new war ship and addition to the Strike and Wing Zero."

"They won't succeed, there's no doubt that the possibility of success doesn't even exist as long Heero Yuy's with the legged ship." Roland state as a matter o factly earning Keagan's attention.

"You're certain?"

"Yes, the La Cruset team might get the Strike and Archangel if Wing Zero doesn't interfere but Heerp Yuy is a target that's out of their reach no matter what they might try."

Roland looked dpwm somberly "However as things stand at this moment bringing down Wing Zero is simply not possible even for us."

"But Roland back in the desert you were putting up a good fight on your own towards the end." Otto said in protest.

"Only until Heero showed the real extent of his prowess." Roland replied.

"Once he began fighting without restriction any chance of victory became non existent."

Keagan moaned inwardly closing his eyes momentarily. "Hence why he can't be defeated by anyone at this moment."

Thomason grimanced at this revelation Roland made plain. "If that's the case then how should we go about remedying this problem?"

"It'll likely take a much higher quality mobile suit than that of the GuAIZ to do so." Roland replied.

"If that's the case than it might interest you to know Zala is overseeing a specail project that could provide with just what we need." Keagon declared.

"Maybe you could enlighten us?" Thomason inquired.

"After the aquirment of the G weapon type mobile suits on Heliopolis he ordered the construction of a new line of mobile suits based off their design which are to be equipped with the highest quality weaponry at Zaft's arsonal."

"Won't they simply be new G weapons? While the idea in and of itself might sound appealing if that alone were enough than the solution to bringing Wing Zero would have been as simple as giving Roland one of the G weapons the Rau La Cruset captured, even the GuAIZ should have been enough with or without the assistance of the rest of the squadron.

"True except for the fact that these new suits under construction will be much more powerful than the ones constructed at Heliopolis due to a certain feature they'll have."

"That being?"

"This." Keagan replied as he pulled out a lap top he was holding in his arm before opening it and letting the Captain and two Zaft reds see the contents on the screen.

"I really shouldn't be surprised Zala would go to these lengths. He'll do anything to ensure Zaft's victory over the Earth forces." Thomason stated.

"Be that as it may it should most certainly serve our ends."

"Maybe but it'll be a while before the construnction on any of these machines is complete. Who's to say with absolute certainly Wing Zero won't be taken out of the picture before then?"

At this point Roland decided to speak up again. "As I informed you before Heero Yuy can't be defeated, not by run of the mill squadrons and less so by the Earth forces new ship's current persuers."

"You're absolutely certain?"

"Now more than ever. Our previous fight proved that to me."

"Meaning we won't have to rush things in order to make everything stays on track." Keagan mused.

Roland didn't voice any reply which didn't go unnoticed by the others.

"Is there something I'm overlooking?" Keagan inquired.

"No, G weapon type mobile with this type pf power source will most definately contribute to the goal of bringing down Wing Zero."

"You sound as if you're uncertain."

"I don't mean to come off like im second guessing everything it's just..."

"There's a part of you that's unsure if it will truly be enough to deal with Heero Yuy."

Silence was the only response Keagan recieved.

Thomasom groaned in slight annoyance. "Roland as Otto pointed out before you were able to hold your own alone and inflict damage the enemy mobile suit when you were only using a mass production model. Surly the power the new suits Zala is having made will tip the scales in your favor."

"Maybe but I'm not truly if it'll actually be enough to truly defeat Heero."

Keagan placed a hand on Roland's shoulder. "Perhaps you should she the machines after their construction is completed."

"Ok." Roland replied before walking off. Though he seemingly acted as if he was at least giving the idea of the new mobile suits solving the problem of dealing with Heero the truth was his doubts were not put to rest by any means.

'The prowess Heero Yuy has as at a level no human being should be capable of reaching.'

XXXXX

A groan of pain came from the Zaft red Dearka Elsman as a jolt of pain shot through his body from his now baddaged arm.

"Dammit! How did things end up this way?!" He yelled out in frustration.

All he wanted to do was give his best friend the justice he deserved by making the pilot of Wing Zero pay for what they had done to him but instead ended up a nearly crippled prisoner who according to the ship's medic was lucky to be alive at all which was likely due to his body's hightened endurance. To make matters worse while Dearka wasn't given the details he did find out the entire mission in the desert ended in failure due to infighting amongst Zaft forces caused by him.

It stung at his pride to no end knowing that for all his efforts the only that came out of it was failure and that he may have very dragged Athrun and Nicol down with him and that wasn't even taking into account that his Buster was trashed to the point that it was barely recignizable anymore.

"Could this possibly get any worse?"

XXXXX

"I'm general Macro Morassim and I'm guessing you two must be Athrun Zala and Nicole Amalfi am I correct?" The Zaft officer inquired upon meeting the two Zaft reds after the came on his ship.

"That's correct."

"I won't lie, while I'd like to say we're pleased to have you two along for this mission that'd be a lie in and of itself for obvious reasons."

"We've been made aware of how everyone now percieves us sir."

"Then I'm sure you'll understand when I tell you that both you and your friend will be sortying seperately from the rest of us."

"Is that really wise? Our chances of bringing down the legged ship would be better if we take part with the others."

"Your father and you might think that but like the others here I'm not eager to trust someone who fought against their fellow countrymen and allowed one of our side's highest priority targets since the destruction of Heliopolis to get away. Personally if it were up to me you'd have both been put in front of a firing squad already."

Athrun stood silently. He knew he was in no position to retort, his actions in the desert strived from wanting to save Kira and Dearka had earned him the scorn of his fellow Zaft members which few were shy of showing. There were more than a few times where he and Nicol would simply walk by and hear other members of Zaft gossiping amongst themselves about their thoughts on the matter that took place in the desert and it came as no surprise that the remainder of the La Cruset team was not looked at in a positive light.

"You should consider yourselves lucky you're being given any opportunity to redeem yourselves at all."

"How are we being given any opportunity if we're not allowed to part in the missions."

"I didn't say you'd never be going out once we find the legged ship. Just that it wouldn't be alongside my men. If you two head out it'll be on your own that way the others don't have to worry about being stabbed in the back."

Athrun and Nicol both grimanced but didn't protest.

"Understood sir."

"Good to see you both understand your position. It'll be in your best interest never to forget it." With that Marco was about to leave when another voice suddenly spoke out.

"Um sir if it's all the same to you I'd like to be allowed to sortie with them when the time comes."

Everyone turned to see a boy around around the same age as Athrun and Nicol with short slightly spiky blond hair wearing a Zaft red uniform.

"If you really want to but just keep in mind your doing so at your own risk."

"I will."

Without any further response Marco left the three Zaft reds alone.

"I suppose I should say thank you for giving us a chance but don't you think you're being a little impulsive?" Athrun inquired.

"While I'm not brushing off everyone's suspicions outright but at the very least I'd be willing to hear your side of the story if your willing to share it."

"Well assmuming you're willing to believe it I guess I should start from when Wing Zero suddenly showed up.

Athrun preceded to explain when they first encountered the enigmatic mobile known as Wing Zero the La Cruset team was easily defeated in their said encounter with it and during that fight the pilot of the Duel was seriously injured which caused them to become blind to any orders given due to an obsession with revenge which ultimately lead to their demise. Due to the pilots of the Duel and Buster being best friends the latter wanted some form of justice for the former who was killed during the battle with the Eigth fleet and once the operation in the desert came underway the pilot of the Buster let his desire for retribution get the better of him which lead to him interfering with the specail forces squad's mission.

"I see. But that doesn't explain why you and Nicol got involved."

"We initially wanted to diffuse the entire situation since Dearka was our friend and I didn't want him to end up being deemed an enemy but he had already decided the squad wasn't doing an adequate job so he really didn't care if the mission to destroy Wing Zero had been assigned to them and the squad members whom we fought had already decided he was an enemy and us when we tried to intervene. After that we more or less had no choice but to fight to perserve our own lives."

"So circumstances just weren't in your favor that day."

"More or less."

"Ok then."

"So do you believe me?"

"I'm willing to give you the benifet of the doubt to say the least. Though it'll be up to you to prove your loyalty to Zaft."

"I suppose that's really all I can ask for."

"Yeah it means a lot that your at least hearing us out but are you really sure you want to sortie with us, if you do it'll only be the three of us alone against the enemy." Nicol stated.

"I'm confident enough in my skills besides I've been a assigned a new Mobile suit designated as the All Rounder."

"Wait does that mean your machinenis the new G weapon we've heard about?"

"Yes. I got it just before I departed to come down to the Earth."

Athrun glanced around the ship's hanger until he a spotted a machine that was indeed based off the design of the G weapon.

It had a bodily shape similer to the Strike's with the key difference being that the gaps in its chest being covered by ventalation shafts. It's head resembeld the Duels but with a mouth plate like the Aegis'.

In terms of weaponry it had a beam rifle with a grenade launcher mounted on it in its right hand and two beam sabers mounted on each hip above a pair of railguns. On its back appear to be an almost jet like packback which was detachable. The only defense it appeared to have was a medium sized shield on it left arm.

Overall the suit looked like it could easily fight on par with any of the G weapons so Athrun saw no reason to doubt it could be a potent unit on the battlfield in its own right.

"It'll definately help though if we want to have the highest chance of success we'll need to plan ahead."

XXXXX

"General Morassim we found the legged it's about to and a half kliks ahead of us."

"Good tell all Dinn pilots to be ready to launch at a moment's notice and make sure Danial and our two other guest know they're to remain on standby until I say otherwise." Marco replied before smiling.

'It's time to do what everyone keeps repeatedly failing at and sink that ship and it's mobile suits once and for all.' Marco said before exiting the bridge and heading to the hanger.

'I'll show those stuck basterds Rau La Cruset and Keagan Brown how to deal with Wing Zero!'

XXXXX

Zaft Commander Celine Ivanna had been put in situations she had not been prepared since joining Zaft for in the past but this certainly took the cake. She had pale blond hair the reached down just her waisted line and green eyes and donned the tradional white commander uniform as per her rank.

"I can understand why Waltfeild needed someone he could trust but did he really have to turn to me of all people."

Celine had joined Zaft a little over year before the war broke out. During her career she had proven herself an exepional pilot in her own right shooting down 82 mobile armors and 3 Earth Alliance ships over the course of her career and as a result climbed through the ranks rather quickly until she became a commander.

Through the course of it she had also become good friends and something of a rival to Andrew Waltfield since her skills as a pilot were more or less.

When she was contacted by the desert tiger the day before the desert operation she was when she found out he had a request concerning Lacus Clyne. She couldn't help bit raise an eyebrow at the knowledge pf this especailly when Andrew informed her the Siegel Clyne needed to be kept in the dark about.

The Commander was filled with no shortage of shock when she learned that the songstress wanted wanted to learn how to pilot a mobile suit of all things. In all honesty she didn't know what was more unbelievable the initial request or the fact the she somehow let Andrew convince to actually help via personally teaching and supervising Lacus' training.

Another surprise came when Lacus showed a surprising amount of talent as a potential pilot given enough time and practice she'd certainly be above any average pilot. Just how far the Plants' Idol would go wasn't anyone's guess.

Still Celine wasn't particularly looking forward to Seigel's reaction when this was discovered or the idea of the teen songstress personally getting involved in the war.

"Commander I have a report for on Clyne's progress." A Zaft soilder said upon entering Celine's office.

"And how much is she showing."

"She's showing...more than anyone anticipated."

'Considering how everyone here was doubting her from the time she arrived I can't say I'm particularly surprised.'

"Should ai take she might have what it takes to become a full fledged pilot."

"Yes, mam."

"I see and what of the thing."

"It's construction is underway but it'll be a few weeks before it's ready."

'Good we'll need our own trump card if Zala ends up leading the plants, his reason for hating Naturals isn't unjustified but there's a difference between defending our homeland and mirroring Blue Cosmos' goal.'

"Alright, dismissed."

After the officer left Celine turned to the back window of her office which was overlooking a training room with multiple mobile suit simulators being using by a few new Zaft recuits and amonst them was the individual in question Lacus Clyne.

While this made what she was doing to those present with her in the training room aware the general idea of Lacus' intention they had all been sworn to secrecy about her ever veing there to begin with since it was probably preferable to Seigel was kept in the dark about this as long as possible.

'Lacus I hope you understand what you'll be stepping into.'

XXXXX

Alarms on the Archangel were suddenly sounding throughout the ship alerting everyone that a battle was more than likely to take place though as far as anyone on the bridge was concerned it was already immanent.

"Captain I'm detecting a large number of enemy units coming up behind us. They'll be on us in about six minutes." Sai announced.

"All hands to level one battle stations! Have Leutenient La Flaga and Cagalli take off in both of the skygraspers."

"What about the Strike?" One of the officers asked.

"It's too damaged to go out into to battle. Ensign Haw try to contact Heero Yuy and find out if he's intending to launch."

"He's already in his machine and ready." Mirriallia replied giving the Captain a sense a surprise and relief.

"Alright open the ship's hatch for him. Ensign Argyle how many units are we dealing with?"

"Thirteen Dinns and two unkowns."

Another officer spoke up. "Judging from the speed of the unkowns I think they're underwater GOOhNs."

'Dammit we're not equipped to deal with amphibias mobile suits.' Murrue thought.

"Load the wambats and ready the Igelstellungs to intercept incoming missiles." Natarle ordered.

XXXXX

"Why are we at level one battle stations Zaft wasn't supposed to be out here." Murdoch said innannoyance at the situation.

"They likely came out here from their Carpentaria base." Mu repleid getting into Skygrasper one.

Meanwhile Cagalli who was manning Skygrasper 2 decided to throw her own retort. "It doesn't matter where they came from we need to fight them off."

'Still I have admit it's getting pretty annoying with how persistant Zaft is in trying to sink this ship.' Cagalli thought in contempt for Zaft in her eyes Zaft were the invaders and needed to be stopped in order for the war to end.

While her only family may have refused to do anything about the war effort even after betraying her homeland's ideals when the G weapons were built. It didn't mean she would stand idly by and simply pretend the war didn't exist.

XXXXX

"Heero you're up against thirteen DINNs and two GOOhNs. Leutenient La Flaga and Cagalli will be launching shortly after you." Mirriallia informed the perfect soilder over the radio.

"Roger that. Heero Yuy Wing Zero launching."

With that Wing Zero flew out of the Archangel's leg and took to the air.

Upon catching sight of the enemy Heero wasted no time in starting things off with a shot from his buster rifle which forced the DINNs to scatter granting a little extra breathing room before he used his shoulder Gatling guns to shoot down two units which tried to close in on him and shooting out the main eye sensor a third one.

'The DINN's may be more numerous but the GOOhNs are the bigger threat since the Archangel's not equipped to deal with them since they're underwater.'

Another DINN flew towards Heero whilst firing both rifles at him only for the perfect soilder to retaliate via impaling the Zaft unit through the chest and throwing their remains into another unit.

It was around this time both Skygprasper had launched and flew off towards the remaining eight DINNs

"Hey Heero me and the little lady will help out with the DINNs."

"In that case I'll deal with the underwater units asap. They'll prove extemely troublsome for the Archangel if left unchecked."

"True, don't worry thanks to the units you took out it'll be a lot easier tp hold out."

"Roger that." With that the perfect soilder did something no could have anticipated and flew striaght into the ocean taking everyone by surprise."

"Did that kid seriously dive into the water? That too reckless even for him!" Mu exclaimed.

Heeeo's suit might not have any problem flying in the Earth's atmosphere but swimming is a completely different scenario. Plus there were the gashes in the side of his chest, with that damage the water pressure would likely crush Wing Zero in its entirety.

XXXXX

"Does this idiot seriously think he can fight us underwater?" One of the GOOhN pilots asked.

"Either he must be a complete retard or have an honset to god death wish." The second pilot said making a beeline for Wing Zero.

To the Zaft pilots surprise he noticed the pair of gashes in Wing Zero's chest which brought a question to the GOOhN pilot's mind.

Why wasn't Wing Zero being crushed by the water pressure?

'It doesn't matter, it's still a near defenseless target underwater, the only weapons they have that'll work are their shoulder guns and head guns.' The pilot thought readying himself to let loose some torpedoes when he noticed Wing Zero aiming its rifle him.

'It's not gonna work underwater. I guess being a Natural that type of common sense doesn't apply to you.'

Unfortunately for the Zaft pilot he quickly recieved to shock of his life when his previous assumption about Wing Zero's beam weaponry was proven wrong and a yellow soared from the rifle head and through the water straight toward the GOOhN the pilot was in.

The Zaft pilot tried to very his machine out of the way but was fast enough to aviod losing its left arm and leg along with a good portion of its side before the remainder began slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

"This is a dream right?" The Zaft pilot asked themselves going into denial of their situation as they began laugh to further delude themselves.

"That's right this is a dream my mobile suit is just fine. That space type can't possible use its rifle underwater! The water pressure will crush it soon enough!" The pilot exclaimed as the remainder of their own mobile succumbed to the water pressure and caved in on itself crushing the pilot to death.

The remaining GOOhN pilot could only stare in shock as his partner's suit finally exploded.

He and his partner had heard of Wong Zero's unbelievable prowess painting it as an unstoppable force of destruction which actually didn't fail to unnerve them but they both figured if they themselves ever had to face the mobile suit their own machines amphipious nature would tip things in their favor since there was nothing to date to indicate Wing Zero could fight underwater.

But now that assumption and hope that the two banked on was grinded to dust.

Once the reality of what had happened sunk in the remaining GOOhN pilot screamed in rage and made a beeline for Wing Zero firing a volley of Torpedoes in the process.

Heero simple countered them with his Vulcans or avoided them altogether before attaching his rifle to his shield before drawing his beam saber which like his rifle worked without any problem whilst heading straight for the Zaft unit.

"Damn you to hell!" The remaining GOOhN pilot yelled before firing the Phonton Masor High energy cannons at Wing Zero which simply blocked the shots with its shield before closing in on the GOOhN and cut through it from the top of its head to it crotch slicing the machine in two vertical halves.

"That's one less problem for the Archangel to deal with." Heero mused before heading for the surface.

XXXXX

"Hey little lady try not to be so reckless." Mu said.

"We need to take out these DINNs, how are we suppose to do that if were putting all our focus into avoiding their gun fire?" Cagalli retorted

"You won't be able to anything if you get shot down let alone shoot them down."

"I know that!"

"Then act like it." Mu shot back.

While he was glad that both Skygraspers were now being in use Cagalli's mediocre skills combined with her recklessness and overconfidence left more than a little to be desired.

So far the they at best have been holding the DINNs off Mu managed to force one to retreat by shooting off one of its wings and taking the unit off balance leaving seven units left.

Even so it was taking everything he and Cagalli had just to avoid being shot down and it didn't help that the latter wanted to leap at any chance she could get without taking the risk into consideration.

Luckily it was possible thanks to the barrage the Archangel was putting up which was giving the two much needed breathing room.

One of the DINNs flew directly in Mu's fight path firing their rifle at him in the process.

The Hawk of Endymion manuvered his craft of the enemy's line of fire before trying to circle back around for a chance to retaliate.

Unfortunately for the Mu the pilot simple rotated their machine and kept spraying bullets in his direction forcing him to stay on the defensive.

"Dammit this disadvantage in tech is really starting to bug me."

Suddenly Wing Zero emerged from the surface of the water charging straight at the attacking DINN before stabbing it through the cockpit.

"Thanks for the save." Mu said but recieved no reply. It didn't bother him however since the they in the middle of fighting off Zaft forces so they didn't have time for excessive chatter.

XXXXX

Marco Morassim was not happy in the least with how things had played out.

He had a squadron of thirteen DINNs his own included along with two GOOhN for a total of fifteen units and in a rather short time span a damaged Wing Zero had easily turned the tide of the fight reducing the number of Zaft units six.

With the loss of the GOOhNs he lost the only opening in the legged ship's defense his forces could expliot and with the DINNs numbers dwindling it almost seemed as if he was going to fail to bring down the ship.

"Dammit I refuse to be made a fool of by one damn mobile suit!" He exclaimed taking aim and firing at Wing Zero or more specifically the gashes in its chest.

Heero saw the attack coming from a mile away simply blocked the onslaught of bullets with his shield.

Much to Marco's dismay he immediately found himself forced on the defensive when Wing Zero returned fire with its shoulder guns forcing him to evade the spray of bullets.

Unfortunately for the Zaft general things only got worse when Heero zeroed in on him closing the distance between the two of them and before Marco could react in any way his mobile suit's arm was competely severed off.

"Dammit this can't be happening!"

Another DINN flew striaght Wing Zero firing both of it rifles at him and in response Heero kick Marco's suit away before turning his attention to the other unit and shooting it down with his buster rifle.

'This is just too humiliating!' Marco thought with contempt before he finally accepted the reality of his situation.

"All units pull back and retreat."

XXXXX

"Captain the enemy's retreating." Kuzzy announced.

"Then recall both skygraspers. As soon as they're both on baord along with Wing Zero we're leaving."

"Undertood." With that Mirriallia began to contact both Skygraspers.

XXXXX

"Both Skygraspers are to return immediatly." Mirriallia said over the radio.

"No need to tell me twice." Mu replied as he began heading back.

Cagalli on the other hand was visablly more relunctant to comply. "Are you kidding me we have them on the run and we're seriously going to let them go?"

"Yeah. Whether you like it or not we're both almost out of fuel amd ammo plus the enemy still outnumbers us even with all the unit shot down by with Zero." Mu rebuttaled.

Cagalli growled in frustration but complied none the less.

Heero meanwhile followed close behind. 'It looks like Zaft is still underestimating me even after the fight in the desert or maybe they simply couldn't prepare anything more effective.'

Either way it didn't really matter to the perfect soilder. If Zaft forces were content to keep sending run of the mill squadrons at him he'd just continually elimate them all as they came.

What mattered was making sure he was prepared to face Roland the next time he showed up on the battlefield.

Heero had no doubt the next they fought the Zaft pilot would prove an even more fearsome opponent and that combined with the fact the damage to Wing Zero's chest armor wasn't going to be repaired anytime soon meant Roland would have an advantage he could and more than likely would try to exploit.

And if Roland got his hands on a better mobile suit his prowess would increase drastically to say the least.

The Gundam pilot would have to keep on his toes.

XXXXX

"General Morassim what happened?" Athrun inquired as Marco exited his machine and shoved his way past the bluenette.

"The fuck do you think? We lost both GOOhNs and five DINNs!"

"What do we have left?"

"Four Dinns. Six when the other two that were forced to retreat aside from mine are repaired. And your units."

"I see." Athrun replied. Honestly a part of him wanted to chestise the General for not letting him, Nicol and Danial launch to act as reinforcements but with the position he and the Blitz's pilot were currently in which made the reasoning behind it obvious they weren't in a position to protest the said decision.

"I'll make that bastard pay for this." The Zaft General declared.

Athrun inward grimaced upon hearing this. It was understandable that the General would want to get even with Wing Zero but Athrun knew that throwing one's self headfirst at Wing Zero blindly was akin to a death wish if the fates of Yzak and Dearka were anything to go by.

"Sir!"

Marco turned and glared at Athens. "What?"

"Please let us assist join ypu on the next sortie."

Marco raised am eyebrow. "Did you forget waht I told you when you first arrived?"

"No sir but our side's chances of success would increase we helped."

"And why the hell would I or anyone in their right mind trust the likes of you or the Blitz after the stunt you two pulled in the desert."

The question was met with silence before the Geberal smiled confusing the Zaft red.

"Tell you what if you're that determined I might have something in mind that could work out for everyone."

Athrun a bad feeling whatever this arrangement was it would not be one that would favor him or Nicol.

"You can come come along with the rest of us but there's just one little catch."

"And what would it be?"

"You and your team will be left to take care of Wing Zero while the rest of us focus our effort soley on sinking the legged ship."

Athrun grimaced again. It looked as if his previous deduction was correct afterall, the arrangement didn't favor his team at all, in fact they were practically being set up to die. Something told the Zaft red that his and Nicol's deaths were the entire aim Danial he couldn't be too sure since he wasn't in the same perdicament that he and Nicol were currently faced with, all in all it was very possible that Marco simply didn't what became of him since simce the blond pilot decided to take the La Cruset team's side to an extent at least.

As much as the Zaft read didn't like the arrangement the sole other choice was to remained benched which could very well not only result in the annihilation of the remaining mobile suits but the Zaft ship's as well if the legged ship's decided they wanted to thoroughly rid themselves of their pursuers so by the end of the day the choice was obvious.

"Understood sir."

"Good to see you're understanding." Morco said walking away with a smirk on his face.

Thanks to the deal he came up with the General was certain he'd set things up in a way thatd benifet him the most he'd use this opportunity to destroy the legged ship all the while the two traitors would recieve the punishment they should have recvieved from the beginning.

Essentially Marco Morassim would be killing to birds with one stone in the form off taking his revenge albeit somewhat indirectly since Wing Zero would be shot down persay but without a supply point or ship to travel on they'd run out of fuel on plummet into the ocean never to be seen again and getting rid of the two unnessacary loose cannons that could potentially cost Zaft the entire war effort andswhile Danial Irons wasn't someone Marco hated he also wasn't someone the General cared for the boy already dug his own grave when he decided he wanted to fight alongside the two traitors.

* * *

 **Alright that's the end for this chapter.**

 **So Roland's back at the Plants and is going to be benched for a time until he can get a more powerful mobile suit, Flay's frustration at not being able to manipulate Kira into during what shs wants is heading towards a boiling point which can result in anything, and Lacus is on the path to becoming a mobile suit pilot.**

 **And yes I know that Athrun and Nicol being given somethung of a second chance is pretty unrealistic considering the inadvertently helped Dearka screw up a major operation to take out Wing Zero but if I went down a realistic rout I'd have had to let them both be executed for what they had done and I'm think no one wants to see Athrun die at least.**

 **Anyway happy holidays and I hope you enjoyed anyway I need to work on the third ch of Hopeful path (rewrite) so please review.**


	10. Second attack and conspiracy from within

**OK I this it's been almost a week since the new year started but here's my belated New years present to you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Seed.**

* * *

'It looks like the rifle's beam energy is refilled along with the fuel supply.' The Gundam pilot thought as he finished checking through his mobile suits internal systems.

"Hey you know you can relax now right?" Mu asked standing outside of Wing Zero's hatch.

"Not necessarily. We may have fought off the pursuing Zaft forces for now but odds are more than likely they'll come after us again."

"Mere hours after they're previous loss?"

"This ship, the Strike, and my mobile suit are all top priority targets at this point. From a Zaft official's prospective the sooner they destroy this ship the better and considering that we're currently traveling overseas isolated from any nearby reinforcements this would be the most opportune time to do so."

"Meaning they come after us even if it's a little reckless on their part."

"Considering what'll happen if this ship reaches Alaska they can't afford to do otherwise."

"True." Mu La Flaga placed a hand under his chin.

"Meaning the only way we're ever gonna get them off our backs is to destroy their submarine carrier."

Heero didn't bother with any type of reply leaving the Lieutenant to continue.

"It should be much more doable now that our pursuers had half their forces shot down."

"It doesn't mean we can get complacent."

"Fair enough still it's not like we can predict everything that comes our way so we mine as well cross whatever bridge we need to when they're in front of us."

"That may be the case but this bridge could be a lot closer than many on this ship think."

"Oh come on with what happened last time Zaft attacked they would at least have to wait to receive reinforcements unless they had a death wish!" Exclaimed Cagalli as she came over to where the other pilots were.

"Hate to break it to you little lady but as Heero put it making sure this ship goes down ASAP is well within Zaft's best interest and because of that if a certain degree of risks needs to be taken in order to complete their mission they'll go through with it."

"Well if they do it'll be easy enough to take care of them." Cagalli said before walking away.

"She's underestimating the enemy." Heero mused.

"Seems that way and it's probably going land her it a tight spot."

"If she fails to recognize when something beyond her abilities it'll be her own fault."

"That's a little cold don't you think? It wouldn't hurt to show some sensitivity like you did when the desert dawn tried to take revenge for that town being razed to the ground."

"I simply refrained from being blunt with what I was really thinking back then for the sake of avoiding needless arguments. The truth of the matter was that the death of her comrades was their own fault for being as impulsive as they were."

"Well I can't really argue with that. But still you could stand to show a little more empathy."

"As long as I'm traveling with you guys I'll help fight off whatever comes after this ship."

Mu sighed."I guess that's all anyone can really ask for."

Leaning over the catwalk's railing the Lieutenant glanced at the mechanics resupplying the Skygrasper's weaponry.

'Though personally I think I can speak for everyone here that we'd rather just have smooth sailing the rest of the way.'

Mu glanced down at the first floor and spotted Kira staring up at the Strike with a look of frustration.

It was understandable in a way. While the young Coordinator didn't take any joy in killing enemy soldiers that didn't necessarily mean he wanted to be powerless.

It was probably more than a little frustrating for him not to be able to help protect the Archangel when it was previously attacked.

Personally though Mu La Flaga felt that if anything he should be taking advantage of the downtime and resting while he had the chance even if that was easier said than done with the extreme possibility that Zaft forces were right on their tail even if the Archangel's systems indicated otherwise.

XXXXX

"Are we really supposed to go along with this plan?!" Nicol exclaimed having just been informed of Morrison's intent for the remainder of the La Cruset as well as its newest member.

"It's practically like the general's asking us to die!"

Athrun grimaced silently. At this point he pretty much felt it was safe to assume that was indeed the case all things considered but the general wasn't giving them any real leaway to do anything else. Daniel on the other hand had simply joined their group for the sake giving the two fellow Zaft reds the chance to redeem themselves and now it looked like that decision was going to very likely cost him his life if he stayed with the two of them. Speaking of the newest addition.

"We should simply focus on coming up with the best strategy possible for dealing with Wing Zero."

"Danial I don't think you understand, Wing Zero is far more dangerous than any other enemy we've come across during this war."

"So I've been told but that doesn't mean it's invincible. Especially if rumors of one of the only special squadron members damaging it have any truth to them."

Athrun recalled watching whatever footage was caught of the confrontation between Wing Zero and the one GuAIZ that held its own against the mobile suit single handedly. The fight certainly proved Daniel's point but the pilot of the GuIAZ in question displayed skill on on level that was out of Athrun and Nicol's reach, even if the three Zaft reds came up with an effective strategy nothing was really guaranteed.

"That may be but the pilot of that GuIAZ was on another level from us."

"Maybe but if we can at least buy enough time for General Morrisom to sink the legged ship."

"But that still leave Wing Zero." Nicol mused.

"Without a supply point."

Athrun's eyes widened as he realized what Danial was implying.

"You mean to simply starve Wing Zero's pilot of their supplies?"

"Yeah. Without that ship the won't be able to reload their weapon, recharge their machine's battery supply, or refuel."

"Meaning that after everything is said and done they'll either run out of power or fuel and plummet to the bottom of the ocean."

"That just might work!" Nicol exclaimed.

"There's just one problem. It's more than likely that the general just set us up to face Wing Zero because he also wants us dead so how do we know he won't accuse us of deserting?"

"If this plan works he won't have much leeway to do so and even then it'll be much easier to defend should that time come since the success of this plan will finally take Wing Zero out of the pitcher. Besides his orders are only to face off against Wing Zero not to fight it specifically until it or us are destroyed so there shouldn't be any problem as long as we buy the others the time they need."

"Fair enough. Now with that out of the way we just need to figure the best tactic that'll keep us alive."

XXXXX

In another part of the ocean a small fleet of five Earth Alliance warships were heading out to intercept the Archangel.

However the none of those in command aboard the Archangel were never made aware of this however since the fleet never came with any intention of rendezvousing with them or anything that could be considered hospitable.

In truth they were sent out by order of Admiral Sutherland in order to seize the Wing Zero while the Archangel was isolated from any significant witnesses.

The Commander who was a man in his mid thirties with combed back brown hair in charge of the fleet known as Michael Verden sighed. The orders he was given were try and catch Wing Zero when it was away from the new warship since it still had the Strike on board but if things went south then he was to simply have both mobile suits subdued and the ship destroyed.

At this point aside from having the Earth Alliance's only remaining Gat series mobile suit onboard as well as three useful individuals the Archangel had already become obsolete on the eyes of the top brass since they could already have it replicated and the fact that the ship and the fact that they'd likely displeased with the fact that the Strike's pilot was a Coordinator.

Personally while Michael was no less disgusted with who the Strike's pilot was than that of the top brass at the very least he believed that the Archangel should be given more consideration given the three potential contributors it had on board, surely they were worth trying to put a little more effort into keeping alive but the way the higher ups saw it they had worth but not enough that to jeopardize the real prize the fleet was sent to obtain.

'I guess in the end all I can is hope on the Archangel mind their own business. While it would be pleasurable to end that inhuman fuck piloting the Strike I'd rather keep potential allies to cause of preserving our pure and blue world.'

Glancing around the room Michael was less than surprised to see to atmosphere was full of tension and anxiety and he imagined it would be the same on any of the other ships particularly amongst the pilots. It made sense considering the opponent the fleet would eventually be facing.

Wing Zero had proven to deadly opponent on its own and even disposing of one of them during the eighth fleet's clash with Zaft in the Earth's atmosphere. It was safe to assume more than a few mobile armor pilots would lose their lives but by the end of the day they were a dime a dozen. The Earth Alliance near numberless army at its disposal so it wasn't like those who died couldn't be replaced and each individual ship within the fleet was filled to maximum capacity with Mobile armors so it had more than a few forces to spare even if they suffered a good amount of casualties during this mission.

Still as long as the main objective was successful it would all be worth everything Wing Zero had proven to be capable of the mobile suit would surely be of great use in contributing to the cause of ridding the earth sphere of the wretched Coordinators.

"Sir will be in range of the Archangel's radars in another forty-three minutes."

"Have our pilots ready to launch at a moment's notice. We'll wait for them to come to us."

XXXXX

"The Rau Le Creuset team will launch ahead of us and once they've preoccupied Wing Zero's attention the rest of us will launch to deal with the legged ship." Marceo said over the radio from within the cockpit of an amphibious mobile suit known as a ZnO.

"Sir are you sure you can even trust those guys? They turned against our own forces and one of them even went as far as to fight alongside the Strike."

"I assure they'll do as they've been instructed which is to face off with Wing Zero, their futures depend on it."

'Assuming they can actually come out of this alive.'

The General smirked as all three G weapons launched from the submarrian carriers followed closely by specialized jet like platforms called GooHLs which the machine's landed on providing them with atmospheric flight capabilities. 'If you guys retreat before mission comes to an end you're definitely being executed I promise you that.'

"As soon as Wing Zero has launched we'll all launch and focus our attention on sinking the legged ship." Morrison announced before donning a near sociopathic grin.

Those onboard the legged ship, the Mobile armor pilots, and especially the Wing Zero's pilot were all going to pay dearly for the humiliation they put him through earlier.

XXXXX

"Captain we have three units on radar!"

Ramius tensed up upon hearing this. Mu La Flaga had informed Ramius of how Heero Yuy believed the enemy would attack again because the Archangel's current location made for too great of an opportunity since it was so isolated but still the idea it would actually be on the same day as the previous one.

For Zaft to go this far the opportunity Heero mentioned them having must have made them more than a little determined seize it.

It may have made sense when all things pertaining to the circumstances surrounding the situation were considered but Ramias really would have preferred for this never to have happened at all, the Crew was still mentally drained from the last fight and having to go into another so soon would only serve to drained them that much further.

'If they're able to follow us out this far while concealing their own vessel they're likely onboard of submarine carrier.'

"Do we have any idea as to what units they sent out."

"Two of them are the Blitz and Aegis the third one is an unkown."

"Do we have a visual of the mobile suit?"

"Yeah...It's a new G weapon!"

Upon hearing this everyone on the bridge's eyes widened considerably. Back when Zaft had stolen the other G weapons aside from the Strike during their attack on Heliopolis it was a given they'd eventually reverse engineer the technology the mobile suits had which became apparent in the desert when the special squadron fought Heero, but for them to have already created a completely new G weapon type mobile suit was more than a little nerve racking since it only meant that the difference in battle strength between the Earth Alliance and Zaft would only widen.

'If only we were able to complete the G weapon project on schedule back at Heliopolis we wouldn't have our backs nearly against the wall already.'

"Put it up on the main monitor."

Upon hearing the command the officer did as they were instructed and bought an image of what indeed was a new G weapon type mobile suit to the main monitor.

It had a black chest and torso that was shaped like the Strike's with the key difference being silver ventilation shaft covers over the gaps on either side of its chest along with a white hatch. Its head was mostly black and had a shape like the Duel's save for its mouth plate which was flat and plane like the Aegis' which was white in color compete with yellow eye and forehead sensors along with a planely shaped gloden V-fin. Its forearms and lower leg both had somewhat bulky armor plating which was jet black in contrast to its upper arms and legs which were snow white.

Ramias' eyes narrowed in frustration. The G weapon project was supposed to remedy the difference in battle strength but now it only seemed widen it even further making the entire war effort next to hopeless.

With the rate things were going Zaft would soon be able to do whatever it wants unchecked and unchallenged by anything aside from Wing Zero and if that happened the Earth Alliance would inevitably be forced to surrender.

The Archangel needed to get the Strike to Alaska and fast but unfortunately the enemy was being relentless with their pursuit of the ship if this second attack on the same day was anything to go by.

"Ready the helldarts to intercept the incoming mobile suits and launch both sky graspers. What's the status of Wing Zero?"

"We just need to open the hatch and He'll launch." Mirriallia answered.

"Good. Inform him of the unkown unkown G weapon."

"Alright." Miriallia quickly established link to Wing Zero causing a window showing Heero inside of its cockpit.

"Heero we're facing the Blitz, Aegis and an new G weapon type mobile suit that we've never seen before so you shouldn't let your guard down."

"Roger that."

XXXXX

The Gundam pilot quickly cut the link upon receiving information about the new mobile suit.

If Zaft truly made a new unit based off the fake Gundams design Heero figured the only possible explanation behind its creation was either that it was a new high performance unit built with the specific purpose going against Zero or the Strike if not both or simply a means to rebolster the Zaft team's numbers since Heero had already taken out two of their members.

Either way it was an enemy that would need to be dealt with but Heero would need to be a bit more cautious, unlike the four machines stolen by Zaft this new unit was one that the Archangel had no data on for Heero to look over beforehand meaning he was essentially going in blind not knowing what capabilities the enemy mobile suit had up its sleeve.

"Heero Yuy, Wing Zero launching." With that he left the ship and spotted the three machines each riding aboard a platform know as a Guul if Heero's data was correct which were basically meant to give the fake Gundams a means of atmospheric flight.

Heero raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at the sight. Considering where Zaft currently stood in this situation and the importance of their mission it would be far more logical to include the remaining DINNs from the previous attack in this one to ensure their mission's success. Simply put it seemed like they were deliberately underestimating Heero and the others onboard the Archangel.

The idea came off as more than a little irrational at this point considering what happened during the previous encounter, Zaft should know better than to get complacent at this point especially with the prowess Heero possessed.

Yet all that was within sight were the three units. 'Something isn't right.'

Hailing the ship Heero was soon patched through to the Archangel's bridge.

"Has something came up?" Ramius inquired.

"Not at the moment however but it might be wise to keep the Archangel's ammo in reserve and simply have both skygrapsers stay near the Archangel after launching."

"What basis do you have for suggesting this?"

"The DINNer that retreated from the last skirmish aren't anywhere right now."

"That may be but why should we refrain from any counter offensive against the enemy in front of us because of that?"

"Because there's a very real possibility that they might try to launch after the both Skygraspers are away and the Archangel's exhausted enough ammunition."

"You think they're waiting to ambush when we're at our most vulnerable."

"There's a high probability of that. I can't say for sure but it'd be best to be prepared just incase."

"I second that." Mu chimed in before receiving a verbal lash out from Cagalli.

"Are you kidding me? We're seriously supposed to sit here twiddling our thumbs when there are three G weapon type mobile suits intent on sinking this ship?!"

"It's the smart thing to do. We can't leave the Archangel exposed out of any desire to get up close and personal with the enemy."

"But the longer those mobile suits are around the more people Zaft will use to needlessly kill! And that seriously doesn't bother you?!"

"Enough!" Ramias said over the radio. "We'll be going with Heero's suggestion."

A low grunt was heard before Cagalli muttered the word "fine".

"Alright prepare to launch both skygraspers."

XXXXX

In the ship's hanger both skygraspers were loading onto both catapults in each of the Archangel's legs.

Mu La Flaga was simply ready to launch and simply patrol the air from a safe distance. A part of him would have much rather have been helping Heero deal with the two remaining G weapons as well as the unknown unit but he understood that leaving the Archangel open while there was a strong possibility of enemy reinforcements showing up wasn't wise.

Cagalli on the other hand was blinded by her own eagerness to engage the enemy before her. The way she saw it the faster the G weapons within Zaft's possession were destroyed the better it would be for everyone. It was bad enough that they were ever built to begin with but to ignore an opportunity to stop their needless rampage and be one step closer to ending the war was downright idiotic on so many levels.

If Zaft had any reinforcements everyone could deal with them when they showed up assuming they actually had anything more up their sleeve. If they really were withholding anything in reserve then it should of been the stolen G weapons, they were far better than any other mobile suits to date and going by that logic they'd be Zaft's biggest trump card on the battlefield so holding mere mass produced units like GINN, DINN, CGUEs, or that new model they used against Heero in the desert would be downright irrational.

With those thoughts clouding the better part of her judgement she suddenly increased throttle and raced towards the three G weapons.

"Hey stop we're supposed to stay close to the ship!" Mu called out only to be ignored.

"Dammit, our guest onboard our ship decided to disregard your orders."

"What, why would she-? Nevermind headout to assist her and Heero with dealing with the G weapons." Ramias replied.

"What about the Archangel?"

"Our weapons are all still fully loaded. We'll stay back and reserve our ammo for any potential reinforcements but if things start looking bad we'll assist you."

"Good to know even though we probably won't need it with the skill Heero has."

XXXXX

Ahead of the others Heero fired his buster rifle causing the three enemy mobile suits to scatter.

The Blitz and unknown unit flew to either side of Heero and began firing their respective beam rifles at him. The Gundam pilot was able to dodge whatever beams came his way with ease and fire a shot at the Blitz forcing it the back off temporarily before turning his attention to the unknown unit.

Since its capabilities were unknown it stood as the biggest threat to the Archangel so it stood to reason that it needed to be destroyed in the shortest time span possible.

Taking aim Heero fired his buster rifle which the unknown evaded before attempting to close some of the distance between itself and him.

Letting loose another shot Heero kept his rifle trained on the unknown unit as it dodged his shot via dashing to its right before he fired another shot only for the same result to come into play before the unknown machine attempted to counter with two crimson beams from a pair of railguns mounted on each side of its torso.

Heero simply blocked both shots with his shield before countering with a shot of his own which the unknown unit avoided via climbing.

The Blitz had taken aim at Heero was forced to change its target and shoot down an incoming missile aimed right at it.

Heero glanced at a miniature zoomed in window that showed one of the Skygraspers heading his way.

It wasn't equipped with any striker pack, that combined with the fact it was disregarding the plan to keep the Archangel defended and prepared in case of an enemy attack made it pretty clear who was piloting it.

Cagalli. She was the only possible candidate to do something this idiotic. Mu La Flaga was an ace pilot but one who knew his own limits, Cagalli on the other hand was someone that may have had determination but she'd throw herself at anyone without considering the risk being taken.

Unfortunately for the blonde teen that reckless nature was about to cost her which became apparent when the Blitz launched its piercer lock at her.

"Not so fast!" A red beam slamming into the piercer lock destroying it in the process."Girl you really need to learn to not be this damn reckless otherwise you're going to get yourself killed." The pilot of Skygrasper one said.

"Like doing nothing when Zaft's most dangerous weapons are right in front of us is any better. We need to take these out here and now."

"Do you even realize how close you were to being shot down?!"

"It doesn't matter. I need to do something about these stolen mobile suits!"

Heero simply tuned out the argument between the Lieutenant and Cagalli. It was clear the latter in her eagerness to take out the fake Gundams was blind to reason which didn't really matter to Heero, he promised to do all that was within his power to protect the Archangel's crew but that didn't necessarily include Cagalli or Kisaka especially when the only reason the two of them were there to begin with was because the former wanted to tag along insisting that the crew needed her help.

So long as she didn't get in Heero's way he couldn't have cared less what she did. Acting quickly Heero climbed evading a shot from the Aegis' rifle before returning fire with his own long range weapon.

The Aegis this released a pair of missiles from the GULL it was riding which Heero countered with his Vulcans before he spun around to block another attack for the unknown unit's railguns.

'It looks like they've become more coordinated with their tactics.' The gundam pilot briefly noted before dodging a shot from the Blitz before returning fire.

The Blitz was forced even further on the defensive when Mu La Flaga fire the impulse cannon from the launcher pack at it.

The Blitz tried to retaliate with its beam rifle but Mu effectively maneuvered out of the path of any shots that may have hit him otherwise.

Cagalli meanwhile let a missile loose at the Aegis which shot the projectiles down with its CIWs before shifting its aim to the Skygrasper two and getting its left wing.

Soon the mobile armor was losing altitude while its began shifting the direction of its forced descent towards an a fairly far off group of islands.

"I'm going down!"

Heero didn't bother with any type of verbal acknowledgment and simply kept his attention on the unknown unit spraying in its general direction with his shoulder Gatling guns to force it off balance before taking a shot with his rifle.

The unknown unit by some miracle managed to climb in time to avoid before destroyed in its entirety but the beam from Heero's rifle did manage to hit the GULL it was riding on.

The unknown unit jumped off the jet like platform just before it exploded. Heero was about to give his full attention to the two remaining enemies before the jet like contraction mounted to the unknown unit's back suddenly detached itself before changing its shape into a platform similar to the GULL the mobile suit was previously riding and flew underneath the unknown unit's feet allowing the mobile suit to land on and ride it essentially serving the purpose the GULL was before it was destroyed.

'A detachable transformable backpack. It looks likes Zaft tech might have more to offer than I would have originally thought.'

The unknown unit took aim with its rifle and began firing at Heero who evaded any beams that were on a path for him before returning fire and forcing the unknown unit to back off temporarily.

Suddenly new signatures showed up on Wing Zero's radar alerting the pilot to what he suspected would show up sooner or later right from the beginning.

"Zaft reinforcements." He mused before using one of his secondary cameras to get a better view of what they consisted of.

Unsurprisingly they were mostly DINNs, six in total along with one mobile suit that was nowhere in immediate sight even though his radar indicated otherwise. The gundam pilot figured it must have been an amphibious type.

"I'm gonna head back to the Archangel and give whatever support I can." Mu announced.

"Roger that I'll deal with these units as quickly as possible and assist you."

As Mu headed back in the direction of the Archangel Heero fired a shot off at the Blitz which was about to shoot skygrasper one from behind.

The fake Gundam managed to maneuver out of the way but nearly lost its balance to the point of falling off its GULL.

'It looks like these pilots are being a lot more cautious than before.'

XXXXX

Inside the Archangel's hanger Kira walked along the catwalk over towards the Strike.

With the ship's constant rumbling it was pretty obvious the enemy was upon the ship.

Looking up at the Strike which was still missing its left arm Kira remembered the time in the desert when Heero made it clear to him that he needed to get strong enough to protect the ship with his own power before the Gundam pilot eventually decided to depart from ship.

When the young Coordinator remembered that he grew frustrated as he recalled how he wasn't able to do a thing during Zaft's previous attempt at destroying the Archangel.

He didn't want to take human life but that didn't make potentially letting his friends die acceptable.

'I know I'll probably wind up in the brig for this but if it means I'll be able to do something then it's worth it.'

XXXXX

"Use the Igelstellung to keep the DINNs at bay and launch prepare to launch surface to air missiles." Ramias ordered.

Captain the mechanic team is informing me that something's happening in the hanger.

"Patch him through."

The main monitor displayed Murdoch on screen.

"We're in the middle of a battle this isn't the best time to be contacting the bridge."

"I know but we got a situation involving the Strike!"

Ramias' eyes widened. "Just what kind of situation?"

"It's the kid. He's boarded the machine and is loading it on the catapult!"

"Switch the camera views to the catapults."

The crewman in charge of them did as they were order and everyone on the bridge was treated to a rather shocking sight. The Strike was indeed on the Catapult still missing an entire arm held a bazooka its remaining hand and had a spare Beam rifle mounted to the back of its waist.

Ramias stared at the Strike monetarily wondering if Kira really meant to launch.

While the young Coordinator from Heliopolis wasn't always the most level headed individual Ramias would have figured that he'd know better than to be so reckless as to launch when the Strike was so far from optimal condition.

Given that it currently wasn't fit to go into battle with the damage it had sustained Kira had to know of the major disadvantage he would be left at.

"Ensign Yamato return the Strike to the to the hanger at once." Ramias ordered upon connecting to the Strike via the radio.

"I know that what I'm doing is dangerous but I still want to protect this ship."

"Do you even realize the position you'll be put in if you go through with this?"

"Yes, but I can still help defend this ship even if it's only a little." Kira declared resolutely stunning the Captain of the Archangel.

"Is this really what you want?" Ramias asked after getting over the surprise of the sheer determination the young Coordinator had shown with his persistence given what his normal view of fighting in general were.

"Yes. So please let me launch."

Ramias sighed in defeat. "Very well but you're to remain on top of the Archangel's deck and fight defensively, am I clear?"

"Yes Captain."

Ramias turned her attention to those present on the bridge. "Open the ship's hatch."

Badgriuel's eyes widened considerably. "Captain do you realize the risk you're taking with the Strike?!"

"Of course but we need all the defensive prowess we can get. We have a total of six DINNs attacking the ship."

Badgiruel grunted in disdain but didn't argue any further. This plan was to reckless since the chance of Kira being shot down here relatively high.

XXXXX

Athrun was more than a little on edge as things stood now. While he, Nicol, and Daniel were managing to stay in the fight...and alive for that matter it was taking everything they had to keep things that way.

There had already been more than a few extremely close calls and it didn't help things when the two mobile armors decided to get involved.

Luckily Athrun was able to shoot one of them down and the other one fell back when the rest of the Zaft forces began their attack on the legged ship.

But even then the enemy mobile suit known as Wing Zero still held the upper hand over the course of the fight managing to easily weave through or block any gunfire directed at it and counter at every turn keeping the three on their toes.

Athrun decided to try utilizing the missiles on his GULL only for Wing Zero to counter them with its Vulvans before firing its shoulder guns at Athrun who had to pull back to ensure he wasn't hit.

"Let's try to lure him further away from the legged ship." Daniel declared over the radio.

"What will that do?" Nicol replied.

"Ensure he can't try to assist rest of the crew during his fight with us. The last thing we need is for Wing Zero to start offing our DINNs while they're focused on sinking the legged ship."

"Makes sense but will he fall for it."

"Not if we make it too obvious. If we suddenly turn tail and retreat Wing Zero's pilot would likely see through it."

"Then what do you suggest."

"We continue the fight but fall back bit by bit gradually over time."

"That just might work."

"I agree that it's the best option we have." Athrun mused as he took aim with his rifle and fired at Wing Zero.

XXXXX

Heero evaded beam fire from the Aegis before sending a shot from his rifle at it. Unsurprisingly the fake Gundam pulled back and avoided the blast before the Blitz fired one of its lancer darts at Heero which he quickly countered with his Vulcans before returning fire which the stealth type mobile suit avoided via creating distance between itself and Wing Zero.

The next attacker was the unknown unit which utilized its grenade launcher only for Heero to shoot it with his Vulcans while it was heading towards him causing it to exploded at the midway point between the two mobile suits.

Like its two partners the unknown unit back off a bit just enough that it'd be ready to defend or evade if the situation called for it.

Heero realized something was up. Throughout the entire skirmish the three enemy units had been incredibly cautious which could be dismissed as them attempting to preserve their lives at first glance but normally someone with that kind of mindset would have retreated already due to fear clouding their judgement and they couldn't have been persisting out of sheer desperation.

While there was some possibility that the position that the pilots of the fake gundams were in was along the lines of fight or die (especially in the case of the Aegis and Blitz considering their actions in the desert) their moves were still thought through, they weren't reckless with anything they did. In fact what painted what they were doing as odd was that they weren't trying to press any type of offensive at all.

While the strategy may have assured the highest chance of survival for the three pilot they had to know that if they didn't try to truly go on the offensive they'd never shoot Heero down and the fight would drag on...

The perfect soldier's eyes narrowed. 'So that's their plan. In that case.'

Heero increased his throttle getting in middle of the unknown unit and the Blitz before splitting his rifle into two separate guns and pointing each of them at both mobile suits.

'I'll have to get a bit more serious about dealing with these three.' With that thought in mind Heero fired both rifles simultaneously.

Both units maneuvered out of each shots' path but unlike all the previous times neither one came out unscathed.

The Blitz ended with its entire left arm being disintegrated and the unknown unit lost the lower portion of both legs below the joints along with it transformable backpack causing the mobile suit to fall into the sea.

If the three pilots goal was merely to distract Heero long enough for the rest of the Zaft forces to destroy the Archangel then he'd see to it they were all dealt with in the minimal amount of time.

Unbeknownst to Heero or the two remaining Zaft pilots they were getting closer to a third party with their own agenda.

XXXXX

By some off chance Mu La Flaga managed to shoot one of the DINNs down taking off some of the pressure. Overall it was more than a little relieving even if there were still five more units to deal with.

It was all the Hawk of Endymion could do to keep from being shot down, he was forced to stick within close proximity to the Archangel since it was the only source of breathing room he could get since its barrage was keeping the DINN at a distance.

Unfortunately the Archangel was being pushed to its limit since the DINNs were all returning fire on the ship when Mu didn't have their attention from different positions.

As things stood Kira was the only ally that Mu really had at the moment since Heero had his hand full with the two remaining G weapons as well as the new mobile suit. At this point the Earth Alliance ace pilot really wasn't worried after everything Heero had accomplished so far Mu was more than a little confident that the enigmatic pilot would come out on top before long and hopefully dispose of the remaining two G weapons within Zaft possession.

He wished he still had Cagalli's help at the moment but her hotheaded nature lead her to make the stupidest decision possible and get herself shot down early on in the fight. Mu (and likely Ramias) hoped she somehow survived. If so they'd have to look for her when this was all over.

Kira at the very least was contributing to the Archangel's defense shooting at any DINN when the came into his line of fire. In spite of his massive disadvantage he was fairing surprisingly well. His shots were well aimed enough that even if they didn't hit their mark the Zaft units were forced to keep their distance out of caution meaning they couldn't press their offensive as much as they pleased.

One of the DINNs climbed to a higher position and sprayed the Strike with a hail of bullets but thanks to the Strike's phase shift armor and Kira angling the Strike so the hole where its left arm had connected to the body wasn't hit by anything the DINN's attack was ineffective. The young Coordinator then took aim with his rifle and fired on the assaulting DINN hitting it straight in its chest and destroying the machine outright before turning his weapon on another one and shooting one of its rifles rending the armament useless and forcing the Zaft unit to back off momentarily.

"It looks like the kid's improving. Heero's decision to let him face the desert tiger may have been the right one afterall." Mu La Flaga mused whilst turning his attention to a DINN that was within his sights.

XXXXX

"Sir we have Wing Zero in our sights. It's currently in engaged with the stolen G weapons."

"Should we send out our pilots while they're preoccupied with fighting each other?" Another officer inquired.

Michael Verdan placed his hand under his chin. "No if anything it would be better to wait for Wing Zero to take out the two G weapons."

"Are you sure? They could act as a distraction for it while our pilot work to subdue the mobile suit."

"Yes one might assume that but war often plays out differently how one thinks it will."

"What do you mean?"

"If we tried to utilize the plan you suggested the G weapons would also turn their guns on our pilots and more of them will be lost." 'Assuming any of them actually survive in that scenario.' "And besides if we until Wing Zero disposes of the G weapons within Zaft's possession when can essentially kill two birds with one stone."

"I see."

"Good. For the time being we'll wait for them to come to us that way we'll have a chance to carry out our mission without catching the attention of the Archangel's crew."

It may have more accurate to say the Commander planned to kill three birds with one stone rather than just two. If everything went according to plan Wing Zero would be captured, the stolen G weapons would be destroyed depriving the Coordinators of a major trump card, and the three assets that could contribute further to the Earth Alliance's cause.

'For the preservation of our pure and blue world.'

XXXXX

"Da-dammit!" Nicol screamed out as he tried to keep his distance from Wing Zero which was rapidly closing in it with its beam saber drawn and its reassembled rifle attached to its shield.

Nicol ignited his beam saber as Wing Zero brought its own down in an overhead swing and attempted to block the attack.

The Blitz was of course pushed back by the sheer force behind Wing Zero's swing before it took aim with its Buster rifle and fired.

A yellow beam disintegrated the Blitz's left foot along with the GULL it was riding causing the mobile suit to plummet into the sea.

Athrun who was watching this watch with horror stricken eyes. The only person who was willing to give him and Nicol a chance to prove themselves and Nicol who was the only remaining member of his Zaft red team were likely still alive but with the way things were going Wing Zero would soon have nothing stopping it from destroying the Zaft forces assaulting the legged ship and the blame would fall on all three Zaft reds which would would lead to their execution.

Athrun couldn't let that happen. If it was just himself facing such a fate he may have simply accepted it but Nicol and Daniel were a different story. He already lost Rusty and Meguil during the attack on Heliopolis, Yzak during the fight within the Earth's atmosphere, and Dearka during the clash in the desert needless to say the Bluenette was tired of losing one friend after another.

Now he was going to lose two more (and go with them to the otherside) at this rate. He couldn't simply let that happen- no he wouldn't let that come to pass. The pilot of Wing Zero may have been unreasonably skilled beyond anything Athrun had ever encountered to date but he wasn't invincible. Even if he had to lose his own life in the process he'd do whatever it took to make sure Wing Zero didn't win the fight in end.

With newfound resolve to ensure that the only two friends among Zaft he had left had a future the Bluenette suddenly saw the image of a seed that was the same color as his eyes slowly spinning and descending until it burst into numerous specs of light. Afterwards Athrun felt a much more calm and preceded to fly straight towards Wing Zero.

He didn't care if the pilot of the mobile suit was a Natural, Coordinator, or some kind of inhuman demon like many amongst Zaft were making him out to be because of their unreal prowess for the sake of his friends who were still alive Athrun would succeed with his mission no matter what.

XXXXX

The perfect soldier had to admit he was a little surprised when the Aegis started taking a more aggressive approach.

It wasn't so much the disregard in its previous caution but rather the increase in skill. The shots from its rifle were much more precise than before.

The Aegis fired the last missiles from the GULL it was riding which Heero intercepted with his Vulcans before the Aegis leaped off the GULL transforming into its mobile armor configuration before firing its scylla cannon at Heero who pulled to the side to avoid whilst the Aegis changed back to its mobile suit form and landed back on top of the GULL.

Taking aim with its rifle the red mobile suit quickly let loose a couple of shots which Heero either dodged or blocked before he decided to use his Vulcans to shoot the Aegis midrange armament.

Once the bullet found their mark the Aegis quickly tossed the rifle aside just before it exploded and ignited its beam saber before making a beeline towards Wing Zero.

As the fake Gundam brought its beam saber around horizontally Heeor brought his own up to intercept the blow.

Both mobile suits locked blades and pushed against one another before Heero was caught off guard momentarily when the pilot of the Aegis did something that was outside his line of expectations for possible scenarios of what their next move might be.

They didn't attack in any shape or form per say but rather they hailed him.

"Why? Why did you have to show up on the battlefield back in space? Why did you have to stick your nose into this war? Why are you fighting against Zaft?!" They yelled out.

"Simple, because individuals from your side provoked my getting involved when they showed up where they didn't belong."

Both opponents pulled away from each other before they closed in once more clashing Beam sabers and flying past one another in the process.

The two mobile suits turned to face their respective opponent before making a beeline for them clashing blades again before they repeated the process multiple time.

"What exactly have we done that made us your enemy?"

"You threatened to drag people I know into this pointless war when they already been through enough as it is."

When both machine clashed Beam sabers passing each other Heero took aim with his rifle and fired at the Aegis or more specifically its GULL.

The beam quickly hit the platform which the Aegis leaped off of before changing to its mobile armor configuration and flying straight towards Wing Zero.

Heero had to admit this pilot had a lot of potential. More so than even Kira. Had they been born in his own world and given the proper training they may have been a possible candidate for a Gundam pilot. But regardless of whatever hypothetical scenarios could be painted around them the Zaft pilot was little more than an enemy that needed to be dealt with.

The fake gundam opened its claws and readied itself to fire the Scylla cannon however Heero was one step ahead and had his shoulder Gatlings ready and let loose a hail of bullets strait into the cannons.

Since the Cannon itself was a separate contraption from the Aegis' armor it didn't have the protection of phase shift and thanks to this the bullets from Wing Zero tore into the cannon damaging into along with much of the inside of the Aegis' frame.

Inside the red mobile suit's cockpit its controls started sparking and short circuiting before the pilot picked on this and put their arms in front of them to shield their face. However when the panel from of them blew up they received a great deal of shrapnel in their arms causing them to scream out in pain while their unit plummeted into the sea below.

Heero was about to head back to assist the Archangel when his radar detected around eighty to ninety plus units heading straight for him causing him to give pause.

The reason for the said pause wasn't simply because they showed out of the blue but rather because of who their IFF codes identified them as Earth Alliance mobile armors.

The perfect solider's eyes narrowed. While anyone onboard the Archangel would think the sudden appearance of this faction was a sign they could breathe a sigh of relief Heero knew better.

The last message the Archangel got from Alaska HQ was to get to Alaska with what they had in other words HQ made it abundantly clear they had no intention of sending any reinforcements to aid the ship in its endeavours.

For this many EA units to seemingly appear as conveniently as they did without any notification to the Archangel couldn't have been a coincidence, there had to be a motive which Heero doubted was anything good.

"I'll need to wipe these forces out while the Archangel is distracted by Zaft forces."

XXXXX

A DINN tried to position itself to take a shot at the Strike but Kira was quick to react and shot off one of the DINN's wings which threw the mobile suit off balance.

The pilot attempted to regain control in desperation momentarily before the Archangel's Igelstellung finished it off.

"Alright just three more." Suddenly an explosion was heard and the entire ship vibrated. It was immediately clear that something impacted the ship the problem was the Kira couldn't see where it had taken place from his position atop the ship's deck.

"Does anyone know where that hit came from?"

"Underneath us." Mu La Flaga answered. "They likely have another underwater mobile suit."

Kira gritted his teeth upon hearing that. Things were hard enough with dealing with the remaining DINNs alone an underwater type mobile suit could only make things worst. Kira couldn't do anything from where he was. Mu La Flaga couldn't' do much of anything since he had his hands tied with dealing with the DINN's and even if they weren't he wasn't particularly equipped to deal with the unit in question.

The Archangel itself wasn't in any better of a position considering it didn't have any weapon located on it belly, simply put the ship's underside was vulnerable and poorly defended and that wasn't even taking the other obvious problem it was currently faced with in the form of the DINN's.

Heero could probably deal with it but was a preoccupied with the other Gundams from Heliopolis as well as that new one Zaft made. Wherever they went Kira could no longer be sure they seemed to have drifted away from any radar range or anywhere the naked eye could see them.

Another impact was felt from the Archangel's underside. 'Dammit at this rate that underwater mobile suit will be the end of us.'

There was a third impact to the ship's underside. Kira tightened his grip on the Strike's controls. With the way things were the G weapon pilot saw only one option available.

'I'll probably wind up in the in the brig for this but if it gives me a chance to save everyone...'

Kira dropped his beam rifle and preceded to grab the bazooka that he had laid one the deck besides the Strike when he first took his position atop the deck. Without any hesitation he engaged the thrusters causing to Strike to perform a high leap before plunging straight into the ocean.

"Ensign Yamato! You were ordered specifically to stay on top of the ship's deck!" Ramias almost yelled out.

"We need to do something about this underwater mobile suit before it destroys the ship."

"I'm aware but we can't rely on tue Strike for that especially with the condition it's in!"

"There's nothing else we can do." Kira replied before cutting the link and turning his attention to the mobile suit before him.

It was moderately similar to the GUUNs Heero dealt with earlier but more elaborate in terms of design with a dark green color scheme and claw at the end of both arms.

XXXXX

Marco Morassim was more than eager to have a personal hand in getting revenge for what happened during the previous encounter with the Earth Alliance's legged ship which was why he was partaking in the attack personally with the ZnO he was currently pilotin

While the DINN pilots were doing what they could from the air Marco was playing his part striking at the legged ship's underside.

He half expected some kind of reaction, maybe from the mobile trying to futilely shoot him from above when all he needed to do was stay submerged to render their efforts useless or maybe for the legged ship to try somehow get a clear shot at him leaving it open to attacks from the DINNs. The response he actually got however was one he could only wonder if it was somebody's idea of a terrible joke.

The Strike armed with a bazooka had submerged to face the General. Considering the reports he had received of its capabilities so far it's biggest area of expertise lied in space but it was also able to compete with BuCUEs on land in the desert but to fight underwater was a different matter altogether but what the General really found really insulting about this form of ratalian from the enemy was the Strike's condition.

It was missing an entire arm and the crew seriously sent it out into battle? Marco could only wonder if this was done out of sheer arrogance or desperation. Either way being faced with such a poor opponent was an insult to his pride which the pilot of the Strike would have to be the one to pay for.

Immediately the General made a beeline for the Strike firing one the energy cannons located in his mobile suit's palm's.

The Strike veered to the side to avoid the blast before taking aim with its bazooka.

"You're gonna have to do a lot better than that!"

XXXXX

the ZnO released numerous torpedoes at the Strike forcing Kira to delay firing his only weapon aside from the two the Strike always carried and pulled back whilst firing his CIWs to destroy the incoming projectiles one by one.

Returning his focus to the opponent before him Kira was greeted to the sight of the amphibious Zaft mobile suit rapidly closing in on him.

Since he didn't have time to take aim with his primary weapon Kira attempted to climb and let the enemy pass underneath him, unfortunately however the ZnO managed to grab ahold of the Strike's leg and began pulling the mobile deeper into the water.

Alarms suddenly went off in the Strike cockpit alerting Kira to excessive strain on the internal structure of the Gundam. It didn't take long for Kira to realize it was due to increasing water pressure created from the constant descent into the ocean courtesy of Kira's current opponent pulling him downwards.

Upon realising that utilizing water pressure to crush the Strike from the inside was the enemy's entire intention Kira increased his throttle power to maximum output.

It's descent was stopped but the enemy refused to let go and persisted in trying to drag the Strike further down and as a result the two mobile suits' position became stagnant leaving the two in tug war like situation as they pulled in opposite directions.

"Dammit let me go already!" Kira exclaimed as the control and monitors inside the cockpit started to spark. While he stopped the enemy mobile suit from dragging him down any further into the depths of the sea he needed to get closer to the surface before the Strike's internal structure succumbed to the pressure it was currently under already but first Kira needed to break free from the ZnO's grasp.

He tried utilizing the Strike's free leg to kick at the hand holding onto to him but the enemy pilot quickly thwarted the attempt by using their machine's other hand to stopped the kick midway and got ahold of the other leg.

Kira growled in frustration at the situation he was in before utilizing an extremely risky option the could easily damage the Strike further and pointed his Bazooka straight downward at the ZnO underneath him.

From his current position Kira's weapon guaranteed to hit the Zaft mobile suit since there would be any way for it to dodge the explosive shell fired at it however because of the extremely close proximity of both machines the Strike's feet would undoubtedly be caught in the blast.

Kira doubted the mechanics or the rest of the crew would be happy about that idea since the Strike was in poor enough condition as things stood but there wasn't anyway getting around it.

XXXXX

Marco's eyes widened when he saw the Strike point its bazooka at him.

Initially the General had wanted to simply dragged the Strike down far enough into the ocean's depths and let water pressure would do the rest in order to take the suit out without wasting ammo on it when that said ammo could be used toward dealing with a more suitable target like the legged ship.

But the Zaft General didn't anticipate the Strike's pilot risking further damage to their mobile suit especially since it was the only one aside from Wing Zero that the Earth Alliance even had.

Was the General really going to ve done in here by a machine missing an entire limb and barely even armed? The very idea of that was too humiliating to put into mere words. No Marco refused to be defeated by such a piss poor opponent like the one in front of him, his pride wouldn't allow it.

"Like the hell I'll be beaten like this!"

XXXXX

Just before Kira could fire the Bazooka the ZnO finally released its grip on both of the Strike's legs and began descending as fast as it could.

Kira merely maintain his aim at the enemy mobile suit before he began pressing down on the trigger button inside his cockpit.

'You're not getting away.'

The explosive shell soared from the head of the Bazooka and through the water straight down down the ZnO which pulled to the side avoiding obliteration but at the cost of its right arm.

Kira was caught off guard when he suddenly heard an enraged voice over the radio on an open channel.

"That's no fucking way in hell I'm gonna lose to a half baked excuse of a pilot using a machine that's in shitty condition like you!"

With that the ZnO charged at the Strike full force ramming into it causing the mobile suit to dropped the Bazooka in the process before grabbing ahold of its head it the process.

"Let's see how you fare after I take your head off!"

Kira's main monitor showed a bright glow that came from enemy mobile suit's palm meaning one thing it readying itself to shoot the at point blank range in the face.

The Coordinator pilot panicked momentarily before the image of of a seed the same color as his eyes appeared in the back of his mind which slowly spun and descended until it bursted into multiple particles of light.

With a much clear and calmer mind Kira quickly withdrew a Schneider knife before using it to cut through the claws clamping down on his machine's head at their joints breaking free from the ZnO grip into the avoid losing the Strike's head completely.

When the Zaft mobile suit's energy cannon did fire however it broke off a piece of the Strike's V fin.

Kira preceded to bring the Strike's knee up scraping it along the surface of the ZnO's body until it the top of the kneecap snagged its hatch. The pilot from Heliopolis followed through even after this happened and the Zaft mobile suits hatch was ripped off as a result.

What followed was a massive torrent of sea water flooding into the cockpit and within moment the water pressure crushed glass visor of the helmet the Zaft pilot was wearing.

Kira began to make a straight shot for the surface but not before sending a kick to the ZnO knocking it that much deeper into the water and increasing the pressure to the point that the Zaft pilot's fate was sealed.

Soon the Strike's head dipped out of the water just in time for its pilot to be treated to the sight of Mu La Flaga shooting down a DINN.

"Kid please tell me you managed to take care of that underwater mobile suit after that stunt you just pulled!" Came Mu's voice.

"Yeah they're taken care of."

"Good that means we just gotta take care of the last of these DINNs and things can finally calm down...mostly."

"Um what do you mean by mostly?"

"Let's just say once you're back onboard the Archangel you're gonna learn the true meaning of hell hath no meaning like a woman scorned."

Upon hearing this Kira suddenly had a sinking suspicion that in spite of everything he had just been through he would be going from the frying pan into the fire.

XXXXX

"Sir we need to order a retreat now!" Exclaimed an officer standing next to Michael Verden who could only stare wide eyed in horror at the massacre unfolding in front of his eyes and those of the crew and fleet who were still alive at the moment.

When the operation first began the Earth Alliance Commander of the Atlantic federation had expected a great deal of casualties after all the pilots sent out were facing a mobile suit that's shown itself to be far more powerful than any GINN or CGUE and it was a struggle to bring even one of those down on average and considering Wing Zero was far above any GINN it was impossible not to expect for some difficulty with this mission.

But still Wing Zero was still just a single unit one the battlefield against ninety plus mobile armors, no matter how powerful it was it couldn't hope to fight its way out of this predicament.

How wrong the Commander was. Upon initially encountering the fleet Wing Zero preceded to simply fly into the middle of the swarm of mobile armors occasionally shooting a few down with its Vulcans or shoulder Gatlings whilsts putting away its beam saber and splitting its rifle into two seperate guns.

Having seen this ability firsthand while Wing Zero was fighting the stolen G weapons Micheal didn't give it a second thought simply dismissing the act as a sign of desperation.

To the Commander's absolute shock all exceptions were thrown out the window when Wing Zero aimed both guns to either side of him and fired. Unlike the previous time where both weapons simply released beams that were comparable to the Aegis' scylla cannon the two released here were far more massive and continues engulfing any mobile armors in their path easily disintegrating them within a single second. Things only went further south when Wing Zero rotated its body clockwise causing the beams to rotated with it mowing down mobile armor units in rapid succession.

Less than a full into the skirmish the mobile armors had lost more than half their original numbers. Anyone that was left was either hysterical, or in denial about what was happening...assuming they didn't simply self detonate they jets and commit suicide to take the easiest way out.

"The hell with this shit, there's no way we can win this!"

"This can't seriously be happening, there's no way a suit like this can exist!"

"The entire mission was pointless. We're just ants to this guy!"

"Fuck all of this I'm getting out of here. I don't wanna die!"

These were voices of various disheartened pilots who were somehow still alive for the moment.

Unfortunately for any of them Wing Zero's pilot didn't have an ounce of mercy for them and preceded to fired a few continuous beam albeit less powerful than the first two to mop up most of the remainder before rejoining his two rifles into one and using the reassembled rifle to destroy to of the Earth Alliance ships with horrifying ease before landing on a third one before attaching the rifle to its shield, drawing its beam saber once more, and slicing through the ship's bridge.

Which brings us to now

"Sir we need the order to retreat!" An officer exclaimed as Wing Zero took to the air once more and began picking any remaining mobile armors with its shoulder gun and vulcans only to receive silence from the horrified Captain.

Seeing the carnage unfold in front of his eyes Michael Verden could only laugh quietly at first before he grew louder gradually to the point where those closest to him began to stare at him in worry and then everyone on the bridge.

The Commander's laughter only grew in volume until it reached they point of total hysteria disturbing everyone else who was present.

"Sir you need to come to your senses. We need to figure how we're gonna get out of this alive!" The Officer pleaded.

"This has to be a dream. That's right this is nothing more than a dream. There's no way Southerland would send us to our deaths like this!"

The officer could only stare at the Commander destabilized state before he suddenly heard a nearby explosion.

Looked in the direction it came from the officer was greeted to the sight of the only other remaining ship now reduced to burning wreckage.

Glancing back at the Commander it made sense why their mental state near instantly declined. What was supposed to be a simple but difficult turned into a disaster which in turn lead to the fleets massacre.

Whoever the pilot name Heero Yuy was, they were an absolute monster with the power they were displaying.

That was all the officer could think as Wing Zero turned its rifle to the ship they were assigned to and fired the shot the would send the last remnants of the fleet to oblivion.

XXXXX

As Heero stared at the burning wreckage from the fleet he had just destroyed his eye showed a fierce anger.

It seemed like Earth Alliance was even more devious than he had imagined. They were actually poised to stab those amongst their own side in the back if it getting what they want.

It wasn't just Heero who was in potential danger but also the entire crew amongst the Archangel.

The Gundam briefly considered trying to warn them but they'd likely never believe him and if he told them of the fleet he had just wiped out they'd think he just needlessly killed much needed reinforcements, ultimately it would be up to the ship's crew to realized their sides truest colors on their own.

Switching to Wing Zero Neo bird mode Heero quickly made for the Archangel.

XXXXX

"These DINN pilots are a little too persistent for their own good." Mu La Flaga mused to himself.

It was a relief when Kira had somehow managed to take out the underwater mobile suit but the remainder of the DINNs persisted in their attack even now.

Now that the DINNs had their numbers reduced and the Archangel no longer needed to worry about any distraction in the form of its underside being exploited the Hawk of Endymion had more breathing room which increased further when when used the impulse cannon to shoot another DINN down.

"Alright we're almost at the end of this!" Mu declared before turning to a DINN that had previously lost one of its rifles courtesy of Kira.

The Zaft mobile suit fired a flurry of missile from the missile silos located on each side of its chest forced Mu to take evasive acting.

Luckily he was still close enough to the Archangel that its Igelstellung were able to take care of the projectiles giving Mu relief before he tried to turn back towards the DINN to be greeted with the sight of it pointing its rifle at him and readying itself to fire.

"Shit!" Mu exclaimed thinking it might have been the end for him before a familiar mobile suit with an emerald color beam saber in end rushed the DINN cutting the machine in half straight through it torso before the two halves exploded.

The last DINN turned its attention to Heero firing both rifle long enough to be on the receiving end of retaliation from Wing Zero's shoulder guns which swiftly tore the mobile suit asunder.

"It's good for you to finally show up."

"The stolen mobile suits along with that new unit were more persistent than I had expected."

"Make sense. You were right to suspect they'd attack us again but they were really pressing it this time but since it's over and we came out on top what say you we head back to the ship?"

"I've no reason to disagree."

"Good but before that could you get the Strike back on board? Our pilot from Heliopolis decided to get involved in the fighting and took a dip in the process."

"Alright."

* * *

 **Alright that's the end of this chapter.**

 **Sorry for the long wait I meant to get this out much sooner but work got in the way.**

 **Anyway please review.**

 **Im off the work on the third ch for Hope path (rewrite) since that was supposed to come out first but my phone decided to delete the entire chapter when I was 90% done while it was in my pocket making me want to take a hammer and smash it to pieces but I had to refrain for obvious reasons.**

 **And to those wondering why a small Earth fleet tried to subdue Heero out of the blue like that no that wasn't just random, earlier in the story Southerland had already planned to try to have Wing Zero taken from Heero during the course of the war so the Earth Alliance could use it as a weapon against Zaft at their leisure.**

 **The attack was basically that attempt being made.**


End file.
